Longtime ESPN reporter believes Miami Heat have best deal for Giannis

With less than a week remaining until the Milwaukee Bucks' self-imposed draft night deadline, the Miami Heat continue to be perceived as the frontrunners in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes by credible media members.

This time around, it's Andscape/ESPN's Marc Spears chiming in with information.

“I know the Bucks don't love the Miami deal, but it appears to be the best deal," Spears said. "Boston, I'm hearing, would love to sneak in & get him. That might mean moving Jaylen [Brown] to another place. I know Jaylen wouldn't want to play for Milwaukee.”

“I know the Bucks don't love the Miami deal. But it appears to be the best deal. Boston I'm hearing would love to sneak in & get him. That might mean moving Jaylen to another place. I know Jaylen wouldn't want to play for Milwaukee.”@MarcJSpears

🎥@AIR305 pic.twitter.com/5LpMfChahW
— Dru (@dru_star) June 17, 2026

The Heat and Boston Celtics have overwhelmingly become the public faces of the Antetokounmpo pursuit, which has now seemed to go on forever, but may have an end in sight -- the Bucks' self-imposed deadline of the June 22 NBA Draft. If they keep it. The Bucks considered moving their franchise player at the trade deadline in February, and had advanced conversations with the Heat prior to choosing to keep him.

So is this finally the time?

Well, perhaps. Milwaukee appears to value pick currency next week for what is projected as one of the better pools of players in years. The Bucks already own the 10th pick, and many reports have suggested that they are acting like they will have one or two more at their disposal.

The Heat's potential offer is blended between picks and players -- is one that everyone has become familiar with, likely to include Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., the 13th pick in next week's draft, two future first round picks and potentially pick swaps and another recently-drafted player like Kasparas Jakucionis. Or maybe Pelle Larsson. The only asset clearly off the table is two-time gold medalist and team captain Bam Adebayo.

Brown is a more pedigreed player than anything the Heat can offer, other than Adebayo.

But there's a catch.

If Brown doesn't want to suit up for the Milwaukee Bucks, as Spears suggests, that makes a Bucks path to a deal involving Boston much more complicated.

Even if the Heat might have to work through a potential three or four-team deal to acquire the two-time MVP, the majority of the Bucks' return would be coming from the Heat's end.

Chris Haynes on Giannis:

“From what I’m hearing this could drag on into free agency. This could drag on until July…. Boston seems a little bit from what I’m hearing and gauging, Boston doesn’t seem a promising destination…. I do still believe he will be moved this offseason… pic.twitter.com/8HXIJisTGw
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) June 17, 2026

The Celtics, inversely, would be relying on another team supplying the Bucks with a sufficient enough package of players and draft capital to stomach sending away their most important player in 50 years -- the one who led them to the championship in 2021 as the NBA Finals MVP.

Antetokounmpo's relationship with the Bucks has soured some, as the roster has cratered, due to poor drafting and questionable free agent decisions. The Bucks missed the play-in tournament entirely last season, finishing 11th in the East. Doc Rivers was fired after the season and, even though new coach Taylor Jenkins has positive history with Antetokounmpo, it does not appear that the relationship with the organization is salvageable.

This -- plus the speculation about the Celtics' desire to shake up the roster -- has led to talk of Brown being involved one way or another. Either for Antekounmpo directly, or re-routed some place that Brown would be happier to go.... with the Bucks recouping assets from that team. Portland and Atlanta have been among those speculated. But no matter what, a team would need to give up a lot.

There hasn't been much reporting as of yet as to who is interested in trading away a package of that caliber for Brown, as well as how much of their own draft capital the Celtics would be willing to trade alongside Brown and whatever they receive for him in a trade.

As others have pointed out, the Celtics can also legally acquire Antetokounmpo with a framework that features Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and their own draft capital instead, but there has not been any confirmed accounting on what their offer has actually been.

Most of that reporting has come from Boston-related analysts or sources, though Gary Washburn -- one of the longer-tenured NBA writers -- has shot some of it down of late. Washburn does not believe that the Celtics have officially offered Brown, who is coming off his best season.

Jaylen Brown — Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at @tropicalblanket on Twitter.

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