Grading what the Milwaukee Bucks got for Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Miami Heat

The Milwaukee Bucks have finally traded forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, after considering an offer from the Boston Celtics.

As both teams will have new beginnings, here's my grade for the Bucks side.

Full trade details

Miami receives: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis

Milwaukee receives: Tyler, Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, 3 first-round picks (including No. 13, first rounder in 2031 and 2033) 1 pick swap in 2030 and 1 2033 secound -rounder

For Milwaukee, I'm giving this trade an A-

It's never easy to trade away the greatest player in franchise history, but given the current situation that the Bucks are in it's the most logical.

After winning the NBA Finals in 2021, Milwaukee had a chance to possibly repeat but lost in the second round to Boston the year later and became the sixth No. 1 seed in playoff to lose in the first round in 2023.

The Bucks decided to shoot for the stars and trade Damian Lillard, but the experiment went south after two first round exits to the Indiana Pacers leading for Milwaukee to waive him and also take on roughly $22.5 million per year for the next five seasons (through 2029–30)

The Bucks were handcuffed, and put all of their eggs in one basket. They tried to make up for it by signing Myles Turner in the offseason, but his numbers took a were not worth the $27 million for the next four years.

Antetokounmpo only playing 36 games, Milwaukee going 32-50 and missing the playoffs was the cherry on top. His interest in leaving the Bucks showed that what they had was not working and needed to restart.

You've acquired young, pieces who can help make an instant impact, while additional draft capital that allows you to become more versatile to rebuild in the future.

Although Tyler Herro only appeared in 33 games, he's another young piece that can score the ball at an high level. In his time with the Heat he averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, while shooting 48% from the field and 37.8% from the 3-point line.

Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. — Jan 23, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) loses the ball between Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) and forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) in the fourth quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Jaquez, Jr. came off the bench for the Heat and excelled in the sixth man role averaging 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, while shooting 50.7% from the field.

Even though he finished second for the Sixth Man of the Year, he became the first player in league history to log 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, 300 assists and 50 3-pointers off the bench in a single season.

Ware is an tall, athletic center standing at 7 feet tall who can also stretch the floor. The 21-year-old sophomore averaged 11.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, in addition to shooting 53% from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arch on three attempts per game.

Jakučionis is coming off his rookie season at 19 years old, who in the 53 games he appeared in averaged 6.2 points on 42.3% from three. He will still have time to develop and grow into a role of his own on a new team.

And probably the most attractive piece of the haul are the picks for the future. The Bucks now acquired the No. 13 overall pick where they either draft for themselves or package it in something else for a different deal. They've also obtained two future first round picks, a pick swap and a second rounder.

As hard as it is to let go for some people, Milwaukee wasn't going to win a championship anytime soon with Antetokounmpo and its current roster.

The best course of action was to get the most of out him, even though the Bucks won't become competitive for a few years.

It's time to rebuild and the Bucks did exactly that, now it's time to build on with what they have for the future.

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