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With just hours remaining before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed a lengthy update on the trade market for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“The Miami Heat are still out there, and the Heat, as last I heard, were still trying to make moves to improve their offer that they can make to Milwaukee,” Windhorst said on Thursday’s episode of First Take. “They have an offer that is sort of a blend of young players and draft picks. It’s sort of a hybrid offer when you compare to Minnesota and Golden State’s, so it would sort of be a middle path. That said, the Heat can make a better offer, a more draft-pick-rich offer later this summer. So, teams in the league right now believe it is most likely that Giannis stays put, but Miami is still there, and I want to point out that I would never put anything past Andy Elsburg, their GM, and the aggression of Pat Riley. So, keep an eye with Miami.
“Cleveland sniffed around on Giannis, but now that they’ve made the James Harden deal, I think they’re probably set,” Windhorst continued. “Portland has been out there in the marketplace looking for assets also to try to make a deal for Giannis. The reason they make some sense is because they have a bunch of Bucks draft assets from the Damian Lillard trade. But what I’m getting around to here is, Giannis, he can’t get what he wants unless he asks for it. If he doesn’t say to the Bucks, ‘I want to be traded,’ not this messing around, doesn’t say the words ‘I want to be traded and I want to be traded to New York.’ Or, ‘I want to be traded to Miami, that’s where I’m going to sign.’ He’s left the door open for the Bucks to play this game. Now, the game has swung probably in the Bucks’ favor.”
ESPN’s Jamal Collier later reported the Bucks “don’t feel the pressure” to move Giannis before the deadline and “rival executives have grown dubious in the past 24 hours about whether the Bucks would actually move their franchise star after more than 12 seasons together.”
Antetokounmpo has had a polarizing 2025-26 season in which he’s indicated his unhappiness with Milwaukee being out of title contention while also denying the notion that he wants to be traded. While speaking to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm recently, he played hot and cold once again, saying he wants to finish his career with the Bucks but also prefers to play for a team that can consistently contend for an NBA championship.
“Brother, if you ask me deep down what I want today, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career,” Antetokounmpo told Nehm. “I want to win here, another championship. And if you can tell me that’s possible, let’s just hang up the phone.”
He continued: “I want to be here, but I want to be here to win, not fighting for my life to make the playoffs. I’m not used to inconsistent basketball. I’ve played so many years of consistent basketball, I am not used to it anymore.”
The Bucks rank 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 20-29 record, and Antetokounmpo is currently sidelined with a calf injury. He likely won’t get his wish of contending for a title this year if he remains in Milwaukee.
However, Windhorst’s report indicated that the potential landing spots for the two-time NBA MVP have dwindled significantly, creating a likelihood that he stays put at the trade deadline before the Bucks revisit the situation over the summer.