Milwaukee Bucks logo outside Fiserv Forum. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) – Before the Bucks agreed to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo to South Beach, Milwaukee’s front office was in talks with the Boston Celtics about a potential trade, which was ruled out by one of the team’s co-owners.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports reports that Jimmy Haslam, a co-owner of the Bucks, was a major factor in the team’s decision to accept the Miami Heat’s trade offer for star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on Monday night. Haslam reportedly claimed that the Heat’s offer was better than the Boston Celtics’ because Jaylen Brown might request a trade in the near future, and Haslam wanted “certainty” regarding the Giannis deal and thought the Heat’s offer gave it.
The Bucks were “very intrigued” by the prospect of Brown becoming the team’s new face, but they also had “serious concerns” about his desire to remain with the team in the long run, according to Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
Trade talks with Boston were further derailed when the team refused to include Hugo Gonzalez or Baylor Scheierman in the deal, which the Bucks’ front office saw as the only way they’d agree to trade Giannis to Boston.
The Bucks officially agreed to send Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Heat on Monday night in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, three first-round picks (including No. 13 overall in the 2026 NBA draft), one pick swap and one second-round pick.
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