New NBA Rumors Reveal Bucks Received '4 Strong Bids' for Giannis Before Heat Trade

Before the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics emerged as the finalists for Giannis Antetokounmpo, they were several interested suitors who presented trade offers to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Jamal Collier, the Bucks received "at least four strong bids" from other clubs that wound up going nowhere because Antetokounmpo rejected those teams by indicating he wouldn't extend his contract with them.

The teams and their offers to the Bucks weren't specified. Shelburne said earlier in the week on SportsCenter that the Minnesota Timberwolves were in the mix, along with the Heat and Celtics.

Minnesota was clearly looking to shake up its roster based on two separate trades this week that saw Julius Randle moved to the Brooklyn Nets and LaMelo Ball acquired from the Charlotte Hornets.

Ultimately, the Bucks wound up picking between offers from Miami and Boston. The Heat won out by giving up Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-round selection.

It could be argued that the package of picks the Timberwolves sent to Charlotte, including an unprotected first-rounder in 2033 and three first-round swaps from 2028 to '30, will end up being more valuable than what the Heat gave Milwaukee.

There key differences, though, are that Miami was able to package four quality players into an offer, all of whom are 26 or younger, and one of the picks was the No. 13 selection this year that the Bucks used to select Nate Ament.

Antetokounmpo's contract was the biggest piece of leverage he had in controlling where he wound up. The two-time NBA MVP has just one more guaranteed year remaining on his current deal, plus a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28.

He will be eligible to sign a four-year extension worth up to $275 million with the Heat in January.

The Heat have been aggressively pursuing Antetokounmpo for a long time, including leading up to the February trade deadline, and they were finally able to land the superstar they have needed since Jimmy Butler was traded in February 2025.