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Zach Lowe on Giannis Antetokounmpo: Miami is the frontrunner to me until I hear like concrete evidence that anyone has beaten the offer that has been sitting there for a long time. We don't know exactly what it is. We know that I keep seeing these reports like Milwaukee doesn't love Miami's offer. It's like, really? You don't think they do? He's still on the Bucks. Like, if they loved it, I think this would have been done by now. But I'm not even ruling out like a mystery team that that might jump in. These things can take some unpredictable turns as deadlines approach, and I think a big deadline is approaching. So, I would still brand Miami the front runner, but obviously the Bucks are waiting for more from them, whether they extract it via leverage, whether Miami just decides it we're done we just need to get it done. Because if they liked Miami's offer, he'd be on Miami.
Heat Central: “Since the day after the season ended for the Heat, I have been saying Giannis is going to be a member of the Heat next season. I’m going to stick with that. I think a trade gets done on draft day. I’m gonna guess the last possible minute, they find a deal and they get Giannis.” — @Anthony_Chiang on his Giannis to Miami prediction.
But the 2006 finals remains Dwyane Wade’s basketball masterpiece, one that saw him join Michael Jordan (1993), Rick Barry (1967) and Elgin Baylor (1962) as the only players with four consecutive 35-point games in the league’s championship series. From Games 3 through 6, Wade scored 16 more points in the paint than any Mavericks player. “Bottom line, in the finals, it was kind of Jordan-esque. It really was,” Mourning told The Athletic of Wade’s performance. “He averaged almost 40 points a game in the finals. That’s getting it done. And it just took the others to kind of come together and do their part — you know, me, Shaq, (James) Posey, J-Dub (Jason Williams), Udonis (Haslem), and Antoine Walker, all of us. “We contributed in our own little ways from that perspective, but D-Wade was phenomenal to watch. He threw us on his shoulders. He just carried us.”
To be clear: I don't get the sense that the Bucks don't want Herro. I've actually heard that Milwaukee and Herro have mutual interest. But the Bucks will clearly be trending toward a total reset from the Antetokounmpo Era if they proceed with a trade over the next few days. If they can get additional future assets by shipping Herro to Detroit or elsewhere ... how could they resist?
In Memphis, Ja Morant was once the superstar whose uncertain future we analyzed at every turn. And then, somewhere along the line, the noise around him went quiet. Yet league sources say the Grizzlies are hopeful that Morant will be some team’s Plan B when the dust settles on Antetokounmpo’s situation. The Heat, in particular, have long been known to have serious interest in the 26-year-old, two-time All-Star. The thinking, it seems, is that Miami’s potential package might reset the market that has otherwise been extremely soft for Morant.
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Heat Central: Dwyane Wade says the finals vs OKC was the last year he felt he was in his prime: “After we beat OKC in the finals in 2012, that summer I got my 3rd knee surgery after that I felt I never got back my explosion…. When I was driving to the bucket I could see I couldn’t take off like I used too… after that I was just good enough”
Bernie Lee: Dwyane Wade sacrificed a large sum of money to win championships, which he did repeatedly. He created a legacy with an organization that will stand the test of time, as shown by a statue and a street that carries his name. But the reality is that the money Wade sacrificed did not come back. When his career was over, and he entered the 'what’s next' phase of life, he chose ownership. We all understood the Miami Heat's position when they chose not to sell him a portion of the franchise at a discounted rate, even though you can argue without hesitation that he raised the value of that franchise more than any other person. He had to move on and join the ownership group of another team he never played a second for. None of us asked, 'How does that happen?' Because the answer is simple: that’s business.
Zach Lowe: I would still bet on him getting traded before the draft. My favorite reporting in the last week has been ‘sources say MIL doesn’t love MIA offer.’ Really? If they loved MIA’s offer I think he’d be on Miami like two months ago. Miami is in it. Boston is in it to some degree. The degree I’m not entirely sure…. I still think it happens before the draft because MIL will want a 1st round pick in this draft. A lot of teams are trying to get a bite at the apple in the middle of the lottery
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Then again, the Celtics’ desperation level simply isn’t at the level of the Heat’s. By all accounts, Boston could forge ahead with the Brown-Jayson Tatum dynamic duo and look for other ways to upgrade the frontcourt. To that end, league sources say the Celtics are among the many teams with interest in the New Orleans Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III (if they don’t land Antetokounmpo).
Dru: “I understand that there's this sort of heat around Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics. I am not a believer that Jaylen Brown is not going to be a Celtic at the start of the season… I believe there's a very good chance Jaylen Brown is staying put with Jayson Tatum.” @WindhorstESPN
Sam Amick: Right now, the sense is that if the Bucks, since it's just me talking, like if the Bucks said all right, Jaylen Brown for Giannis straight up, I think the deal is done. I think the Celtics don't think they should be having to put much if anything else in there. But what tugs at me and I guess why Lou answered the question that way is that like something is driving the Celtics to be interested, right? And they were interested at the deadline. And two things can be true. They can have the utmost respect and love for Jaylen Brown and the player he has become. But I'm one of those kind of actions over words people, and it's like something is keeping the Celtics inspired to remain in this conversation instead of just heading back to their corner and rocking with their team. I feel like maybe they do enough at the last minute to get the deal done, but the safe answer is Miami.