The saga surrounding Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo could finally be nearing its conclusion.<\/p>\n
Bucks ownership said in May<\/a> it wanted Antetokounmpo’s future resolved by the start of the 2026 NBA draft Tuesday. <\/p>\n ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday on Get Up that a trade is expected in line with that cutoff point, and the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics appear to the two finalists.<\/p>\n Most crucially, this could be a straight-up swap rather than one involving three or more teams:<\/p>\n “The variance of these deals is dramatic. With Boston, it’s a Jaylen Brown-led package; it’s around a veteran player, a superstar-caliber player. In Miami, it’s a group of cost-controlled players, rookie-scale contracts, significant draft capital in that deal. And so, I do want to make this clear though, whichever deal occurs, whether it’s today or tomorrow, it is going to be a one-to-one deal. It’s going to consist of Milwaukee and likely one of these two teams, and that’s how it’s going to be. There’s no third team, fourth team in any construct right now. Now the sides could leave this open. Remember, when Kevin Durant was traded a year ago in June, it ended with those two teams, but it turned into seven total teams by the end of the offseason. And so, that could certainly happen here. These have been intense negotiations. We know the Giannis situation has gone one for about 13 months now. The Bucks engaged in conversation at the deadline. They’ve been open for business since the draft combine in May. They’ve narrowed in on these two teams right now. Giannis, my understanding right now, he is ready to be traded. Either Boston, either Miami. And we’ll see what happens over the next 24 hours.<\/p>\n ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and NBA insider Chris Haynes reported last week the Bucks weren’t bowled over by their offers to that point. Because of that, they could delay a final decision until after the draft:<\/p>\n While not qualifying as a true breakthrough, The Stein Line’s Marc Stein<\/a> reported Monday the Celtics ended the weekend “with a real shot” of landing Giannis. Despite the fact he reportedly prefers<\/a> not to play in Milwaukee, Bucks ownership might like the optics of flipping one star for another in Boston’s Jaylen Brown.<\/p>\n In terms of talent, Brown is certainly better than what the Heat can put on the table. Jake Fischer<\/a> of The Stein Line reported on June 11 that Miami’s expected package includes guard Tyler Herro, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and center Kel’el Ware.<\/p>\n