The Celtics and Heat are the two finalists to land Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and a deal is expected to be completed before the draft begins Tuesday night, ESPN’s Shams Charania said Monday morning on “Get Up” (Twitter video link).
Charania adds that it’s likely to be a two-team trade either way, with no one else getting involved as a facilitator. However, other teams could be added later on.
He describes Milwaukee as having “serious conversations” with both Boston and Miami, which are reportedly Antetokounmpo’s preferred destinations and teams that he would be willing to sign an extension with.
Charania cites a “dramatic” difference in the two packages that Milwaukee is considering. The deal from the Celtics is built around Jaylen Brown, an established star who averaged a career-high 28.7 points per game this season and earned second-team All-NBA honors. There has been speculation that the Bucks would look to move Brown to another team, but they may also consider keeping him and trying to be competitive right away. Brown is owed roughly $183MM over the next three seasons and will become eligible this summer for an extension that could be worth up to $142MM for two years.
Charania calls Miami’s offer more “cost controlled,” reportedly featuring Tyler Herro, along with Kel’el Ware and Jaime Jaquez Jr., who are both still on rookie-scale contracts, in addition to draft assets. Herro has a $33MM expiring deal and will be extension eligible this offseason, while Jaquez is also in line for an extension.
Milwaukee’s decision makers are currently split between the two offers, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Antetokounmpo would be happy with either destination, one of his associates tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). The source confirms that Antetokounmpo’s camp informed a “(far) West team” that he wouldn’t consider signing an extension there, but adds that they didn’t want to scare away every team but Miami.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst indicates that the Heat realize they don’t have an individual asset that compares to Brown, and they’re searching for other ways to add value to their offer (Twitter video link).
“If Jaylen Brown doesn’t get traded for Giannis, they may trade him somewhere else,” he said. “Miami understands that Jaylen Brown is in there. They can’t match that. Miami in recent days has gone out to try and recruit third and fourth teams to improve their offer. They don’t have a premium player, like a Jaylen Brown. The most premium asset they have to trade is the 13th pick in tomorrow’s draft. Which is a good piece, but it’s not Jaylen Brown.”