The Miami Heat have officially won the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, outbidding the Boston Celtics to come away with the Milwaukee Bucks superstar. Here are the details of the blockbuster deal, according to ESPN's Shams Charania:
Miami Heat receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis
Milwaukee Bucks receive: Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap, and one second-round pick
Boston's best offer included All-NBA Second Team wing Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks. Brad Stevens was reluctant to add up-and-coming players Hugo González and Baylor Scheierman into the package, which may have been the difference-maker in determining Giannis landing spot.
But now, the Celtics are left to wonder whether or not the damage has already been done regarding Brown.
Blazers need to target Jaylen Brown in Giannis trade aftermath
The Portland Trail Blazers were logical facilitators of a potential multi-team Giannis blockbuster had Boston won the sweepstakes, having expressed interest in Brown. They were right to sit out of the Miami offer. None of the Heat assets were worthy of giving up the Bucks future draft picks acquired from the Damian Lillard trade in 2023 -- picks that have skyrocketed in value following Milwaukee's new rebuilding timeline in a post-Giannis era.
Portland even expressed interest in giving Milwaukee those picks back directly for Giannis and was willing to sacrifice up to four first-rounders at February's trade deadline. But without assurance of a long-term commitment to the Greek Freak staying in the Pacific Northwest, Blazers GM Joe Cronin changed his stance.
Now, the Blazers will have to continue their search for star power elsewhere. Hopefully, the Celtics still make Brown available after missing out on Antetokounmpo. If that is the case, Portland would still have enough assets to put together an intriguing offer to acquire him directly.
We were hoping all along that, if not Portland, Giannis would land in Boston. Brown was a perfect fit as a two-way star to pair alongside Deni Avdija. He is also still under contract for multiple seasons, giving Portland more control, which unfortunately has to be prioritized for smaller market teams.
After making their 2024 Finals MVP available for trade, it's possible there's no going back from this for Boston. The Blazers need to pursue Brown to see what the situation currently is and whether that relationship can be mended or not. If it's not Brown, Portland will have a much more difficult time finding the right star power this summer, as their options already start to dwindle.
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