With the NBA Draft looming, the Celtics and Heat are racing to land Giannis.
Tuesday night’s NBA Draft is serving as a self-imposed deadline for the Milwaukee Bucks, and with it fast approaching, the race to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo has narrowed to two teams: the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
Giannis , a 10-time All-Star and two-time league MVP, is 31 years old and approaching the end of his contractual ties to Milwaukee. Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam framed the draft as the natural crossroads at which the franchise either moves Giannis for maximum value or commits to building around him. The situation has dominated NBA trade discussions for more than 13 months, with no resolution until now.
What Miami is reportedly putting on the table
The Heat’s reported offer includes four key assets: 1) Tyler Herro, 2) Kel’el Ware, 3) Jaime Jaquez Jr. and 4) the No. 13 pick in Tuesday’s draft. Herro is the most established of the group, having averaged at least 20 points per game over the past five seasons, though he is entering the final year of his contract. Jaquez Jr., who finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, is also playing out a contract year. Ware, a younger option with a club option that runs through the 2027-28 season, averaged double-digit points in his second season.
What Boston is risking with Jaylen Brown
The Celtics’ approach is less fully defined but considerably more dramatic. Jaylen Brown, the longest-tenured player on Boston’s 18-time championship roster, has been placed on the trading block as the centerpiece of the Celtics’ bid. It marks the first time the franchise has genuinely entertained ending the Tatum-Brown partnership that delivered five Eastern Conference Finals appearances and an NBA championship in 2024.
Brown came off his best season yet, averaging a career-high 28.7 points on 47.7% shooting with 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, largely carrying the Celtics while Jayson Tatum missed most of 2025-26 with injury. He finished sixth in MVP voting, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham. Brown is also under contract through the 2028-29 season, giving Milwaukee more long-term security than most of Miami’s available pieces would provide.
What makes this trade so complicated
Giannis holds a player option for 2027-28 and is widely expected not to exercise it, meaning whichever team acquires him will immediately face the challenge of locking him into a major extension. League rules prevent him from signing a third extension with Milwaukee before Oct. 1, so that negotiation cannot happen until the new season begins.
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens is pushing for something done before the draft, knowing it will define the entire shape of Boston’s offseason. Pat Riley and the Heat have reportedly been equally aggressive. Both organizations understand the stakes clearly: Giannis transforms any roster he joins, but the price of acquiring him may shape both teams for years regardless of whether they get him.