It has not been a gangbusters start, at 1-4, for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, who bungled their way through a mediocre finish and a playoff run that ended in the first round last year. Including the playoffs, the Bucks went just 19-23 after coach Doc Rivers replaced Adrian Griffin three months into the year.
Now, with the Bucks roster at a crossroads–age has slowed 34-year-old star guard Damian Lillard, as well as 36-year-old center Brook Lopez, the Nos. 2 and 3 options on the team–Milwaukee is on the clock to reshape the roster into a contender once again.
That’s because as part of the $186 million extension that Antetokounmpo signed in 2023, he has a player option for 2026-27, which means he is just a year removed from free agency. That’s typically when a team that does not think it can re-sign a star player will look to trade him.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
So it is that uncertainty about the future of Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee is already bubbling up. And one of the long-rumored potential destinations for Antetokounmpo is making the rounds: the Miami Heat.
A report from CBS Sports on Thursday cited a league front-office type saying that Antetokounmpo could have interest in forcing his way to either the Miami Heat or the Brooklyn Nets.
Wrote Bill Reiter of CBS: “An Eastern Conference NBA executive has already heard the places believed to be Giannis’ would-be preferred destinations: ‘The teams I’ve heard are Miami and New York — the Nets, not the Knicks.’”
While the Nets have picks to offer the Bucks, if the potential for an Antetokounmpo trade arose, the Heat have better young players to send back, including the likes of Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic.
The Heat appear prepared to move on from the Jimmy Butler era in Miami, and could perhaps interest the Bucks in taking back Butler–a local hero in Milwaukee because of his time at Marquette–in a trade.
Butler can be a free agent next summer, but has a $52 million player option that would be difficult to turn down. It’s likely he will play out 2025-26 on a (very lucrative) expiring contract.
We’re a week into this season, which means it will be a while yet before the Bucks make a call on what to do with Antetokounmpo. But one executive told Reiter that, “Teams are circling — and hopeful.”
It’s likely we can count the Heat among those hopefuls.
