The Portland Trail Blazers had expressed interest in acquiring superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks. However, it was ultimately the Miami Heat who won the Giannis sweepstakes, with the trade saga finally coming to a close on Monday night.
ESPN's Shams Charania reports that the Bucks will be sending Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap, and one second-round pick. One of those picks includes the No. 13 overall selection in Tuesday's draft, giving Milwaukee now a total of two lottery selections in a strong class to jumpstart their rebuild in this post-Giannis era.
Charania adds that the Boston Celtics were the other finalist to land Antetokounmpo, with their offered package consisting of Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks. It's fair to wonder whether Milwaukee made the right decision by prioritizing Miami's package, which featured more quantity-over-quality assets. Brown, coming off an All-NBA Second Team appearance, could've easily been flipped for additional future assets to better align with this rebuilding timeline. Milwaukee decided to cut out the middleman, landing young assets and draft capital directly from Miami instead.
The Blazers were wise to sit out the Giannis sweepstakes
Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam gave Milwaukee a self-imposed deadline of deciding on Giannis' future before the 2026 NBA Draft and was reportedly even operating under the assumption they'd have an additional first-round pick in the draft. The fact that Giannis finally wound up in South Beach shouldn't come as a surprise, but the relatively underwhelming package sent to land a top-five player in the world shows just how close Portland was in its offer at the deadline.
NBA insider Jake Fischer recently reported that Blazers GM Joe Cronin was willing to offer up to four first-round picks to acquire Antetokounmpo in February. Considering Portland also could've included a high-upside young player like Shaedon Sharpe, Milwaukee has to wonder if they held onto their franchise icon for too long.
The Bucks wanted to get back their future draft picks lost to the Blazers in the Damian Lillard blockbuster, which would've been far more valuable than the ones they just received from the Heat. But the one thing Miami had in its favor that made them the favorite over Portland was Giannis' mutual desire to join forces.
Giannis has a player option after next season, giving him leverage in the trade talks. The Blazers may have been able to outbid any Giannis suitor this offseason, but Cronin realized it wasn't worth the risk of a potential one-year rental. They were no longer willing to go to the same extreme as they were in February.
But is a one-and-a-half-year rental much better, especially considering Antetokounmpo's injury? Maybe Milwaukee did Portland a favor by not taking that package at the deadline.
One thing is clear: none of the assets the Bucks just acquired from the Heat are worth the Blazers getting involved as facilitators to return those picks to Milwaukee. Charania adds that the deal will be made official on July 6, keeping the door open for opportunities to expand the framework. It would be one thing had they taken the Celtics package and could have turned those picks into Brown. But with the Heat not having as strong an asset heading to Milwaukee, it's best for Portland to avoid this situation entirely.
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