Which players the Bucks should keep from Heat in a Giannis trade

Every day it’s more likely that the unhappy Greek hero finds his way out of Milwaukee, and it seems like he is Miami's to lose. This would likely mean the Bucks would get back Tyler Herro and Kel’el Ware as the main bodies.

Bucks fans might feel uneasy, thinking “Really, this is the best we can get back?” but the team doesn’t have as much leverage with next season essentially becoming an expiring one on his deal because of the player option in 2027-28. They would also lose more leverage if he’s pushing to go there.

Ware has huge potential and will fulfill it if he learns to keep the RPMs high all game. Getting traded could be one of the powerful motivators that makes the best version of himself come out nightly.

In Herro’s case, he has gotten close to maxing out, but he’s going to be a good player for a while. If the trade shakes out this way, it would be in the Bucks’ best interest to keep him because he would provide quality outside scoring and more-than-competent playmaking. His chemistry with Ware would be a plus, taking into account how he assisted on most of the big man’s field goals in 2024-25 (54).

Herro’s real form is closer to what he was in 2024-25, when he made his first All-Star team. Still, he looked like he never left after returning from a 15-game absence and played well-enough offensively to end this past regular season. It also helps that he’s from Milwaukee, and this is an attractive sell to fans because many local kids would picture that for themselves.

With the Bucks, he’d have the green light over all teammates considering how he would be the most efficient high-volume shot creator. Notably, his frequency on catch-and-shoot threes and pull-up threes were separated by 0.2 percentage points, and his accuracy was about the same. This would mean he’d catch most of the opponents schemes, so he must be helped with teammates moving well off-ball.

Also, keep in mind that Herro’s effective field goal percentage in the last two seasons (56.3 and 56.1) have been very good and there would be potential in a backcourt with him and Ryan Rollins. Herro has averaged 4.8 assists over his last two years, and Rollins raised his to 5.6 in 2025-26.

The downside to Herro is he has never been a good defender for long stretches, but that’s more about his physical limitations than his effort. Perhaps he can add something, using more of his smarts to put himself in better position before the initial action, or become a better thief in the passing lanes. It would be a big help to the team and would help change the narrative about him.

The idea of Herro and Ware sounds better attached to multiple unprotected first-round picks, which they of course would get. But the most important thing to consider here is that it would be a respectable return and perhaps an equal one to what the Bucks got when they traded Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Los Angeles. There is still a high bar to live up to because Junior Bridgeman's jersey hangs in the rafters.

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