There was a lot of speculation around the league that if Milwaukee was going to meet co-owner Jimmy Haslam\u2019s self-imposed deadline of wrapping up the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga by the June 23 NBA Draft, it would happen this weekend (so the parties involved were fully prepared for draft night. Will that come to pass, or will the saga drag on (maybe past the draft and into free agency)? The ball is in the Bucks\u2019 court.<\/p>\n
Here are the latest rumors and reports around a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.<\/p>\n
Bucks asking too high a price?<\/p>\n
Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst understands the stakes: If the Bucks trade away the best player in franchise history, a two-time MVP and NBA Champion, it has to get back a haul. What comes back in this trade will define how long and painful the Bucks\u2019 rebuild will be.<\/p>\n
Does all that have the Bucks asking for too much? That\u2019s what\u2019s being reported by Jake Fischer at The Stein Line<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe word that keeps coming back: \u2018Unrealistic.\u2019 The Bucks naturally want as much as they can if they\u2019re parting with their Face of the Franchise, so what constitutes unrealistic? Sources say Milwaukee has been asking teams for returns that would leave any club acquiring Antetokounmpo too barren to contend for a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n Fischer used Minnesota as an example, saying it talked to Milwaukee about trade parameters at the February deadline, and when the Timberwolves revisited those talks in recent weeks, the Bucks were asking for even more.<\/p>\n Take a step back, and this sounds like Miami (and maybe Boston and others) trying to do a little negotiating through the press. The Bucks are rightfully pushing for as much as they can get in a trade, and the Heat and others are trying to get the best deal for themselves. Eventually, the sides will compromise and find a deal. Or they won\u2019t.<\/p>\n Along those same lines, this is also why you keep hearing the names of other teams on the fringes of these talks \u2014 Minnesota and Orlando come to mind \u2014 being pushed. It\u2019s not that those teams couldn\u2019t seriously jump into the mix, but Milwaukee is trying to turn up the heat on a tepid trade market. Which brings us to….<\/p>\n Miami still the frontrunner<\/p>\n For all the attempts to bring other teams into the mix, Miami remains clear and away the most likely landing spot for Antetokounmpo if he is traded in the coming days. Don\u2019t take my word for it, here is the Ringer\u2019s Zach Lowe appearing on The Dunker\u2019s Spot podcast<\/a> (a must-listen show).<\/p>\n \u201cMiami is the frontrunner to me until I hear like concrete evidence that anyone has beaten the offer that has been sitting there for a long time. We don\u2019t know exactly what it is. We know that I keep seeing these reports like Milwaukee doesn\u2019t love Miami\u2019s offer. It\u2019s like, really? You don\u2019t think they do? He\u2019s still on the Bucks. Like, if they loved it, I think this would have been done by now. But I\u2019m not even ruling out like a mystery team that that might jump in. These things can take some unpredictable turns as deadlines approach, and I think a big deadline is approaching. So, I would still brand Miami the front runner, but obviously the Bucks are waiting for more from them, whether they extract it via leverage, whether Miami just decides it we\u2019re done we just need to get it done. Because if they liked Miami\u2019s offer, he\u2019d be on Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n For the record, Miami\u2019s offer is rumored to involve Tyler Herro, Kel\u2019el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and draft capital. Miami would love to hold on to Jaquez or another player in that deal so they have more around Antetokounmpo (although the Heat are legendary for getting the most out of role players, who knows who steps up for them).<\/p>\n Detroit third team in trade?<\/p>\n Portland has long been seen as a third team involved in any Giannis Antetokounmpo trade (to Miami or elsewhere) because the Trail Blazers control some future Bucks first-rounders the rebuilding team would like back.<\/p>\n