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Giannis Antetokounmpo: I was thinking that I would be in Milwaukee for my entire career. But then I saw that I'm in the confort zone. I was in my confort zone. I wanted something different. And I'm happy to be in Miami. In Miami now, I won't lie, I don't feel comfortable. I don't know the team, but I'm going over there and I will do my best. I've been doing this my whole life, and I hope it turns out well. I love the city of Milwaukee. I will love Milwaukee until I die. I bleed purple and green. It's very simple. They made me who I am today.
The Timberwolves had talks with the Celtics about Jaylen Brown, the Milwaukee Bucks about Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Chicago Bulls about Josh Giddey, according to team sources who granted anonymity so they could talk about sensitive negotiations. Brown was intriguing, but the Celtics were asking for a king’s ransom that included Gobert and heavy draft capital. There were also debates about how Edwards and Brown would fit together as two ISO-heavy scorers on offense. Connelly had given chase to Antetokounmpo before last season and at the trade deadline, but the Wolves never got close on a deal there either, sources said. Giddey was another big guard to potentially pair with Edwards, but there was little traction on talks there.
Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. knew the Miami Heat could trade him this offseason. But when the trade actually happened, the news still hit him hard. “I knew that it was definitely a possibility that it was going to happen,” Jaquez said on Friday while watching the Milwaukee Bucks and Heat face off in a Las Vegas Summer League game. “But you’re never truly prepared for what it does. So, once I got the news, it was definitely devastating for sure. I love Miami. I love this city. It really felt like home to me. “But with that being said, man, I’m super excited to get with this new team. I feel like there’s a lot of opportunity for me in Milwaukee. And I’m really just happy to get out there and make my mark there in Milwaukee.”
Shams Charania: Free agent guard Gary Trent Jr. has agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and agent Lucas Newton tells ESPN.
NBA on ESPN: Giannis’ tribute to Milwaukee 💚 (via @Giannis_An34 )
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Anthony Chiang: It will be a two-team trade between the Heat and Bucks today, according to a league source. The NBA's moratorium has been lifted since 12:01 p.m.
NBACentral: The Milwaukee Bucks are looming as a potential destination for Jonathan Kuminga, per @JakeLFischer (Via @BleacherReport )
Team sources said the Bucks would be OK keeping Herro on the roster, but execs around the league have told ESPN that Milwaukee has been scouring the trade market to see what it could get in return for him. Flipping Herro for more draft picks or young players could potentially expand the Bucks' return for Antetokounmpo and further their rebuild.
Before Herro joined Milwaukee in the Antetokounmpo trade and the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a four-year, $185 million max deal with Austin Reaves, the Lakers had trade discussions surrounding Herro and Kel’el Ware, which would’ve involved multiple first-round draft picks, league sources told HoopsHype. In addition, the Brooklyn Nets also did due diligence and gauged the price tag for Herro, HoopsHype has learned.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was genuinely torn, multiple sources close to him say. Between loyalty and love of a city that had embraced him as a skinny kid from Greece 13 years ago, and his desire to compete for more championships with a franchise that had exhausted all its resources to try to do that for him. Those contradictory forces had swirled for years.
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Last fall, when Antetokounmpo moved his family from Milwaukee back to his native Greece, it seemed to be a signal that the emotional cord between the city and the man who had become a star in it had been severed. Antetokounmpo could never bring himself to publicly ask for a trade, but moving his family to Greece and enrolling his children in Greek schools seemed to be his way of doing so. The move didn't last long, though. Antetokounmpo's family was back in Milwaukee within a few months, multiple sources say. Even during the most uncomfortable periods this past spring, he brought his family to Bucks games and played with his children on the court.
Michael Scotto: Sources: Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. is exercising his $5.39 million player option for the 2026-27 season. The 25-year-old guard will remain a key piece for the Bucks in the post Giannis Antetokounmpo era.
Shams Charania: Milwaukee is acquiring No. 60 from the Magic for cash, sources said.
The team was foundering, and they faced more questions about energy and effort. Antetokounmpo and Connaughton openly wondered where the joy had gone. One player said his teammates were still arguing about schemes as they felt the urgency to turn it around. “Giannis is Milwaukee,” a former teammate said. “When you have a guy like Giannis it’s never going to leave your mind of wanting to win a championship. It’s not a thing. There is no such thing of having a good year and figuring it out. It was an overwhelming feeling of ‘We’ve got to get it done.’” Rivers pulled together the top nine rotation players to check on the mood of the team. Though the immediate feel from the veterans afterward was positive, Rivers would call yet another meeting, only with just the championship five. "He drove a wedge between the guys who a championship," one player said, "and everybody else."