The Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers were listed as possible destinations for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo if he’s traded.
“No,” one executive told NJ Advance Media when asked if Antetokounmpo would be moved during this season. “Not till this summer at the earliest.”
The Bucks are off to a slow start in the 2024-25 season, winning just one of their first six games. With the team struggling, it’s possible that they could entertain blowing up their roster at some point in the future.
According to NJ Advance Media’s Adam Zagoria, the executive listed the Heat, Nets, Rockets and Clippers as team’s that he’s heard “linked to Giannis.”
The Heat were also brought up by another executive as a potential destination for the two-time MVP.
“Another Western Conference league source told NJ Advance Media of Giannis: ‘The only places I can see him going are Miami or [the] LA [Clippers],’” Zagoria wrote.
The Heat could make sense for Antetokounmpo, especially since they may be moving on from Jimmy Butler after the 2024-25 season.
Butler has a player option on his contract for the 2025-26 season, but it’s been reported that he’s expected to pass on a contract extension and opt out of his deal in the offseason.
“The expectation at this point is that Butler will pass on the extension even if the Heat offers it, according to sources, and then opt out of his current contract to become a free agent next summer,” the Miami Herald‘s Anthony Chiang wrote.
If that’s the case, Miami could consider looking for a new star in the trade market to replace Butler in the offseason.
The Bucks have committed to a core of Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Damian Lillard, but they didn’t finish where they would have liked last season.
An injury to Antetokounmpo knocked him out for the playoffs, and the Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round. Milwaukee also failed to win 50 games in the regular season, finishing with the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
While the Bucks still have a ton of time to turn around their slow start to this season, it’s possible that if they don’t, Antetokounmpo could look to ask for a trade to get to a better situation.
There likely will be several suitors for Antetokounmpo should he ask for a trade, but Miami appears to have an insider track if he ends up going on the trade market.
