RealGM Basketball Wiretap

23 June 2026

• Bucks Wanted More Assets From Celtics To Complete Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade

  The Milwaukee Bucks wanted more assets from the Boston Celtics in order to complete a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

  The Bucks traded Antetokounmpo to the Heat on Monday night.

  The Celtics aggressively pursued a deal with the Bucks for Antetokounmpo, offering Jaylen Brown and two unprotected first-round picks.

  "The Bucks wanted more assets. They wanted a couple young players - Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman - potentially others. They wanted more first-round picks, more swaps... my understanding is that the Celtics were not willing to part with enough young players and assets to get a deal done," said Charania.

  It was also reported that Bucks' owner Jimmy Haslam preferred the certainty of the Heat deal over the Celtics' offer.

• Bucks Owner Jimmy Haslam Preferred Heat Deal Over Celtics' Offer

  Milwaukee Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam was the "driving force" in the team taking the Miami Heat deal over the Boston Celtics' offer, sources told Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo! Sports.

  The Bucks traded Antetokounmpo to the Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and a second rounder.

  The Celtics' offer reportedly centered around Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks.

  Haslam, who wanted certainty, did not want to risk the possibility of Jaylen Brown asking out of Milwaukee after dealing with Antetokounmpo and Myles Garrett trade demands in the same year.

  The Bucks could consider moving Herro, who is attracting interest from around the league.

• Bucks To Consider Keeping Tyler Herro Amid Interest From Around League

  The Milwaukee Bucks are receiving interest from around the league in Tyler Herro, sources told Eric Nehm and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

  The Bucks acquired Herro from the Heat as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo deal.

  With the trade unable to be finalized until July 6, the deal could continue to evolve.

  While the Bucks will consider trading Herro, there is also interest in keeping the guard.

  Herro has one year left on his deal at $33 million.

• Celtics Offered Jaylen Brown, Two First Round Picks To Bucks For Giannis Antetokounmpo

  The Boston Celtics made an aggressive pursuit to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks and offered package built around Jaylen Brown and two first round picks.

  The Bucks decided to move forward with a trade of Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

  There is now an expectation that Brown could be made available by the Celtics in other potential deals.

  Brown is coming off his best individual season of his career and is eligible for a contract extension this offseason.

  While the Celtics have never actively shopped Brown in trade talks, he has now been offered twice over the past five offseasons. When Kevin Durant was made available by the Brooklyn Nets in 2022, the Celtics offered Brown as part of their package. Brown went on to win Finals MVP for the Celtics in 2024.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo Traded By Bucks To Heat

  The Miami Heat have acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and a second rounder. Jon Horst and Andy Elisburg finalized the trade agreement on Monday evening.

  The Bucks also considered a trade with the Boston Celtics centered around Jaylen Brown and two first round picks, but decided ultimately to move forward with a more voluminous deal with the Heat. Both the Heat and Celtics were on Antetokounmpo's preferred list of destinations.

  Antetokounmpo will give the Heat one of the NBA's best big man pairings alongside Bam Adebayo. Antetokounmpo had been linked with a trade to the Heat dating back to 2020 before the Bucks acquired Jrue Holiday and he subsequently signed a supermax contract before winning the 2021 championship.

  Miami's picks traded to the Bucks will be No. 13 in Tuesday's draft along with unprotected first rounders in 2031 and 2033, a pick swap in 2030, and a 2033 second rounders.

  The Bucks preferred the flexibility of controlled contracts and future draft picks from the Heat over a superstar player-led trade of Brown from the Celtics.

  The deal will not become official until July 6th and could be expanded to include other teams, but is a one-for-one deal as currently constructed.

  Sources told ESPN that from May 2025 through May 2026, Antetokounmpo and his agent, Alex Saratsis, consistently informed the Bucks that he preferred to part ways and that he would not sign another long-term extension.

  Antetokounmpo directed the Bucks to engage in trade talks with the New York Knicks last offseason as that was his preferred landing place. Talks never progressed to the point of becoming serious and the Knicks went on to win their first NBA championship since 1973.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo Willing To Sign Long-Term Extension Only With Celtics, Heat

  The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have been the only two teams involved in trade discussions where Giannis Antetokounmpo would commit long-term. The Milwaukee Bucks received interest from other teams during the NBA combine in May.

  "There were a ton of teams that made offers that had robust interest in Giannis," said Shams Charania on the Pat McAfee Show.

  The Bucks previously listened to trade offers on Antetokounmpo ahead of the trade deadline and decided to wait until ahead of the draft.

  "Right now, the Heat and Celtics are the only two teams involved that have gotten the commitment from Giannis that he is willing to sign long-term," said Charania.

  Antetokounmpo could become a free agent in 2027, which would be a considerable amount of risk for any team trading for him without a commitment that he'd view that destination as more than just a one-year rental.

• Jaylen Brown 'Accepting' Of Possible Trade From Celtics

  Jaylen Brown has been confirmed to be offered by the Boston Celtics to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo and he is reportedly "accepting" of the reality that he may be traded this offseason. Brown could be made available to other interested teams even if the Celtics are unable to execute an Antetokounmpo trade.

  Brown enjoyed his more central role with the Celtics this past season while Jayson Tatum rehabbed his torn Achilles until March. Brown was a second team All-NBA selection and was even in the MVP conversations at various points.

  "From what I understand, Jaylen Brown is accepting this and realizes this is a chance to turn the page in his career and he may be getting his own team," said ESPN's Brian Windhorst on Monday's episode of First Take. "Which is something he's thought about for some time."

  Brown is under contract through the 2028-29 season on his five-year, $303.7 million supermax contract signed with the Celtics during the 2023 offseason.

  Brown becomes eligible for a two-year, $141.9 million contract extension in July that would extend his committed seasons to 2031 when he will be coming off his 33-year-old season. Brown is represented by Jason Glushon.

  The Celtics previously offered Brown in a trade package to the Brooklyn Nets in 2022 for Kevin Durant.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo Will Be Traded To Celtics Or Heat, No Other Teams Involved

  The Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly closing in on a resolution for trading Giannis Antetokounmpo. ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Get Up that Antetokounmpo will be traded to either the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat before the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday. Charania also said that Antetokounmpo is ready to be traded and prefers a deal to either the Celtics or the Heat.

  As of now, there are no additional teams involved in trade talks with Milwaukee and Boston or Miami to make it a multi-team deal. The Bucks are engaged with the Celtics and Heat on two-team trade constructions.

  ESPN's Brian Windhorst also reported on Monday that he believes Jaylen Brown has been included in Boston's official offer to the Bucks for Antetokounmpo. Brown will remain with the Bucks if he is traded by the Celtics.

  Antetokounmpo began to express an interest in a trade from the Bucks in May 2025 and progressed to trade talks with the New York Knicks last August. The Bucks decided to keep Antetokounmpo under the belief that they would be contenders in the Eastern Conference after acquiring Myles Turner.

  Antetokounmpo and the Bucks went on to have a contentious season as they had a disappointing record and he also had multiple calf strains forcing him to the sideline. The situation eventually fractured when Antetokounmpo and the Bucks disagreed on whether he should return from a knee injury late in the season.

• Gary Harris Exercises $3.8M Player Option With Bucks

  Gary Harris has exercised his $3.8 million player option with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2026-27 season. Harris was signed to a two-year, veteran minimum contract last offseason. Because it was a two-year deal, Harris' salary counts at his full minimum salary vs the two-years-of-service veteran minimum amount.

  Harris appeared in 48 games for Milwaukee last season. The 12-year veteran averaged 2.7 points in 13.8 minutes per game.

• Celtics Have Gone 'All In' On Trading For Giannis Antetokounmpo

  The Boston Celtics have reportedly gone "all in" on trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, per ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst. While speaking on ESPN's Get Up, Windhorst reported that the Celtics were cautious about offering Jaylen Brown for Antetokounmpo, but have now offered their All-NBA player in trade talks with the Milwaukee Bucks.

  Windhorst said the Miami Heat are the other finalist to trade for Antetokounmpo. The Heat have reportedly offered Milwaukee a package centered around Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware and draft picks.

  Boston can offer a package centered around Brown, because the Celtics star and Antetokounmpo are close to a salary-match. The Celtics can then offer a young player or a draft pick to up their trade package, without sacrificing the team's depth too much.