The Heat, over the weekend, continued its pursuit of a trade for disgruntled superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, as the Milwaukee Bucks mull whether to deal him before Thursday’s 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline or wait until the offseason.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that the Heat, Minnesota, New York and Golden State “have emerged as the most serious suitors between now and the deadline and if it stretches into the offseason.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Monday that the Knicks are not aggressively pursuing Antetokounmpo because “they love [their] team” and “I don’t believe they can beat another team like Golden State’s offer with just what they have put on the table.
“They would have to go out on the market aggressively and offer other players to pick up extra first-round draft picks. We just don’t have any indication that that’s happening. The Knicks are not operating like a team going all in for Giannis.”
Windhorst also reported that Minnesota’s offer does not “outweigh” the other offers.
He said “I would lean 51-49” that Antetokounmpo will not be traded this week, adding: “I think the Bucks will be in a better position to make this trade in the summer than they are now. The offers will only get better in the spring.”
The Knicks and Minnesota do not have any tradable first-round picks. The Warriors have four and the Heat has two.
Charania said Monday that during the weekend, several Antetokounmpo suitors made “aggressive” offers and counter offers and that “Giannis is ready for his exit from Milwaukee whether it’s at the deadline or offseason.
“The big thing to monitor over the next three days is will a team emerge that matches the price point that Milwaukee has set. My indications are they want a young blue chip talent or a surplus of draft picks.”
The Heat can offer a blue-chip young talent in Kel’el Ware, who is third in the NBA in rebounds per 36 minutes at 14.7 (behind Mitchell Robinson and Andre Drummond) and second among all NBA centers in three-point shooting percentage at 41 percent, behind only Denver superstar Nikola Jokic.
The Heat’s offer, according to a source, is widely expected to include Ware, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier’s expiring contract, and another young player or more, as well as first-round picks in 2030 and 2032 and possibly first-round pick swaps in 2026, 2029 and 2031.
Teams cannot trade first-round picks more than seven years out, and teams are not permitted to trade a future first-round pick if it leaves them without any first-round pick in consecutive years.
The Heat might need to acquire another first-round pick to sweeten its offer. That can be achieved in several several ways. Among them:
1). Try to find a team that will trade a 2026 or 2027 first-round pick to Miami for Andrew Wiggins.
2). Amend the protections on the first-round pick due Charlotte. That first-rounder is lottery protected in 2027 and unprotected in 2028.
If Heat waives the protections and Charlotte agrees to accept an unprotected Heat pick in 2026 or 2028, that would free up a third first-rounder to trade to the Bucks.
3). Say, hypothetically, that the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder does not want to keep all three of its 2027 first-round picks. Miami could offer to take one of those picks in exchange for the Heat offering the Thunder a chance to swap first-round picks with Miami in 2029 and 2031, as well as other assets or financial considerations.
That could entice OKC and it would leave Miami with three tradable first-round picks (2027, 2030, 2032).
Antetokounmpo, 31, has been sidelined by a calf sprain, but coach Doc Rivers told ESPN that he will play again this season. He has appeared in only 30 of the Bucks’ 47 games and is averaging 28 points and 10 rebounds per game.
If he had played in enough games to qualify for the league leaderboard, he would be sixth in points and ninth in rebounds (just ahead of the Heat’s Bam Adebayo, who currently stands ninth in the league in rebounds per game, and Ware, who stands 10th).
Antetokounmpo, who is making $54.1 million this season, can sign a four-year, $275 million maximum contract extension in October. But in order to be eligible to receive that offer from another team, he would need to be traded by Thursday’s deadline. If he’s traded during the offseason, he would be eligible to sign that max extension six months after the trade.
He was one full season remaining on his contract at $58.4 million with a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28.
The Heat, for the past few years, have been making personnel decisions collectively among a group including owner Micky Arison, team CEO Nick Arison, president Pat Riley, general manager Andy Elisburg, assistant general manager and vice president/basketball operations Adam Simon and coach Erik Spoelstra. Five Reasons Network reported that Alonzo Mourning also has a seat at the decision-making table.
When members of the group don’t collectively agree on something initially – as was the case during deliberations about what to offer in a trade for Kevin Durant last summer – they work on trying to come up with unanimity.
Ultimately, as owners, the Arisons have the final say, though Five Reasons said Nick Arison, specifically, has final say.
Miami stands 27-24 and in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference heading into Tuesday’s home game against Atlanta (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Sun).
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 11:04 AM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
