Rumblings around Giannis Antetokounmpo suggest that if he leaves the Milwaukee Bucks, he prefers to play in a big city, including Miami.
According to The Ringer’s Howard Beck, people around the league suspect that Antetokounmpo would prefer to play in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, or Chicago if he’s traded this summer.
“Does Giannis ask out? If he does, does he have a list?” Beck said on The Zach Lowe Show. “I poked around a little bit a few days ago, and the initial thing I got from one person was just like some rumblings that it’s already just the big cities. One of the LA teams, or one of the New York teams, or maybe Miami. Not a big market, but a glamour market, mid-size market. I think they threw Chicago in there.”
Antetokounmpo is under contract through 2028 and will make $54.1 million next season.
Miami has been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Antetokounmpo.
If the Bucks end up listening to offers for Antetokounmpo, it’s sure to result in a competitive bidding war. The Heat have three tradeable first-round picks and $65 million in expiring salary, so they could put together a potentially compelling package compared to the LA and New York teams.
But if the Bucks expand the bidding to teams beyond Antetokounmpo’s list, teams like the Houston Rockets can easily beat Miami’s best offer.
As Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus pointed out in this piece, “With financial flexibility, draft considerations and potentially available prospects, few teams can offer as much as Houston.”
For the Heat to land Antetokounmpo, they will need him to try to dictate his landing spot and which teams the Bucks negotiate with. But, as the Heat learned with Damian Lillard two summers ago, that doesn’t always work since front offices ultimately call the shots.
Adding Antetokounmpo would mark Miami’s biggest acquisition since LeBron James’ arrival in 2010. He is a bona fide top-three player in the NBA and a perennial MVP candidate. A team with a healthy Antetokounmpo is virtually guaranteed to contend at the top of its conference.
But the Heat can’t gut the team in a hypothetical Antetokounmpo trade, either. To compete with teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, the Heat would have to find a way to hold onto Bam Adebayo and probably Tyler Herro while adding Antetokounmpo to that trio.
That’s easier said than done. How interested would the Bucks be in the 20th pick in June and a pair of distant first-round picks in 2029 and beyond? Do they view players like Kel’el Ware or Nikola Jovic as anything more than sweeteners? As a smaller market without a star draw, how much do they value cap space in 2026?
These are the questions the Heat may need to find answers to this summer if (IF!) Antetokounmpo asks out and the Bucks decide to make him available.