New Giannis Trade Rumors Update Potential NBA Landing Spots Amid Celtics, Heat, Warriors Buzz

The Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes might wind up being a bidding war between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.

NBA insider Jake Fischer reported Thursday that Miami's offer is "widely presumed" to include guard Tyler Herro, center Kel'el Ware and forward Jaime Jacquez Jr. along with draft capital.

According to Fischer, people around the league aren't eliminating the Celtics from the picture despite them not yet making a serious pursuit: "This much is clear: Boston is believed to be a potential suitor that genuinely concerns Miami."

Fischer went on to downplay the odds of the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic or Portland Trail Blazers putting a trade package together.

In a way, this is becoming the worst-case scenario for the Milwaukee Bucks. Trading one of the greatest players in franchise history is never easy, but general manager Jon Horst painted himself into a corner by holding onto Antetokounmpo last summer and through the 2026 trade deadline.

When the two-time NBA MVP can be a free agent in another year, a lot of teams will be dissuaded from giving up the kind of assets Milwaukee will demand. Fischer reported it's an obvious consideration for Portland.

The Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers have young stars in Paolo Banchero and Evan Mobley, respectively, who would headline a trade offer. The Cavs reportedly don't want to move Mobley because of his age and multiple years of team control. Orlando is likely operating under the same premise with Banchero and Franz Wagner.

When it comes to the Celtics, the situation could be complicated even if they're willing to swap Jaylen Brown for Giannis.

The Bucks need to be building for the future with an Antetokounmpo trade, and they're not achieving that if they wind up adding a 29-year-old star who's making $183 million over the next three seasons.

This all could leave the Heat with a pretty clear runway.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps weighed in on the Giannis trade saga during Wednesday's episode of the Hoop Collective podcast.

Bontemps argued that Miami winning the race would represent it being "the last team standing" rather than the highest bidder.

"I think if there's other teams in the race, at least for me, if I was Jon Horst in Milwaukee and I was looking at it, the Heat package is fine," he said. "But it's not enough for me if any of these other teams decide to get in the mix."

Yet that's the outcome that might be emerging. Milwaukee's informal deadline of resolving Antetokounmpo's future by the start of the 2026 draft on June 23 isn't helping matters.

The Celtics, for example, apparently have to decide in the next few weeks whether they're prepared to finally blow up the tandem of Brown and Jayson Tatum.

Teams trading away a player of Antetokounmpo's caliber never get a return of equal value. Even by that standard, Horst could end up with a deal that leaves a lot of fans underwhelmed.