News of a league-altering trade was broken late Monday night, when ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the Milwaukee Bucks were sending superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat in return for a massive haul including Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucioni, and draft compensation.
The blockbuster deal, which isn’t set to be finalized until July 6, ends months of speculation that the 2025-26 season would be Antetokounmpo’s last in Milwaukee. The Heat and Boston Celtics were seen as the last players at the finish line, with the Celtics offering a package around star shooting guard Jaylen Brown.
In fact, the Celtics were so close to getting a deal done that senior Chris Haynes, the senior NBA insider for NBATV and the NBA on Prime, was touting the Cs as the favorites to land Antetokounmpo just moments before the news of the trade broke.
“Well, from what I’m hearing, it sounds like the Boston Celtics are the frontrunners to land Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Haynes said on the NBATV set. “The expectation and belief is that a deal will be done by the draft. And the owner, the owner for the Milwaukee Bucks, they said this a couple months ago; they said they were looking to do so.
BREAKING: The Bostin Celtics are the favorites to land Giannis, per @ChrisBHaynes
“The Boston Celtics are the front runners to land Giannis Antetokounmpo…. I can expect something to be done by end of the day but if not, most definitely by the draft. Right now I’m hearing the… pic.twitter.com/NJlVD9Zctn
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) June 23, 2026
“And I would say probably about a couple of weeks ago, teams were starting to hear, starting to hear some intel about how the Bucks might even take this past the draft and go on to free agency. But, you know, the last 48 hours or so, I think that has changed. And from what I’m hearing from all accounts, is that the Milwaukee Bucks are ready to make a move. I will expect—I can expect — something to be done by the end of the day. But if not today, most definitely on the day of the draft. And, um, right now I’m hearing the Boston Celtics, not the Miami Heat, are the favorites to land him in a trade.”
It’s worth noting that Haynes wasn’t the only one pointing toward a Celtics-Bucks deal being imminent, with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reporting that Boston was “all in” on getting a deal done for the former MVP. So while Haynes’ sources and reporting don’t appear to have been erroneous, there’s no denying that his timing was brutal.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.