The Miami Heat remain favorites, while the Boston Celtics are an “active player” in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s pursuit. The Milwaukee Bucks owner already gave a draft day deadline, which is less than a week away. But the two teams getting all the headlines aren’t the ones holding the cards Milwaukee actually needs. The Lakers and the Knicks have also been touted as other destinations, but ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported two other teams that could persuade the two-time MVP, and both, oddly enough, are sitting on assets the Bucks themselves gave away.

“The one that’s really interesting to me is Portland. Portland, because they have Milwaukee’s draft picks. They also have some good young talent. So, I don’t know that Giannis would want to go there. I don’t know that he would want to go there. And I know Jamal was reporting about Boston, but they have a nice potential package there. They were interested at the deadline.”

On NBA Today, Shelburne stated that Portland holds massive leverage because they control Milwaukee’s future draft capital (first-round picks and swaps from 2028 to 2030) from the original 2023 Damian Lillard trade. The Bucks would want to get these picks back so they can successfully kickstart their upcoming rebuild. Portland can offer an exciting young core (such as Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe) and pitch a reunion with franchise icon Damian Lillard, who is set to return to the court for the Trail Blazers next season.

Milwaukee already showed its hand once on exactly this point. At the February trade deadline, the Bucks fielded aggressive offers from the Warriors, Heat and Timberwolves and walked away from all of them, telling rival executives they weren’t desperate enough to deal without getting either a blue-chip young player or a real surplus of first-round picks in return.

Portland is the only team in this conversation that can check both boxes using picks that already belong to Milwaukee on paper. That’s not a coincidence Shelburne is pointing at- it’s the same price tag the Bucks set for themselves months ago, just with a more specific buyer attached.

Previously, ESPN insider Shams Charania identified the Trail Blazers as one of the teams prepared to aggressively pursue the former MVP despite no guarantees of a long-term commitment, “no matter the risk.”

The risk is twofold. Antetokounmpo has one year left on his deal plus a player option for 2027-28 worth roughly $62.8 million, and any acquiring team would be betting on him picking up that option rather than walking. The bigger number sitting in the background is the four-year, $275 million supermax he becomes eligible to sign on October 1- the contract he gets if he simply stays put and re-ups with whoever drafts him into a trade. For now, no report suggests that the two-time MVP is ready to move to Rip City. Another team to keep an eye on is the Orlando Magic.

“I think there’s a, there’s another dark horse team that I’ve heard, Orlando,” said Shelburne. “Good young players. They kind of topped out in the playoffs. We all know what happened in that first round against Detroit. Would Paolo Banchero be a guy they would ask? I mean, these are big, good young players.”

NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson said on The Odd Couple podcast earlier this month that Portland and Orlando were having a conversation with the Bucks. Orlando’s case is less about picks and more about timing.

The Magic being an option is intriguing since the hiring of Sean Sweeney as head coach. Sweeney previously served as the Bucks’ assistant coach (2012-18). This eventually triggered many reports linking the Magic and Banchero to Giannis.

Whether Orlando is actually willing to part with its own franchise piece to get a deal done is the open question nobody close to the team has answered yet.

Why do the Celtics seem to have the edge over Miami in Giannis Antetokounmpo talks?

The Heat’s offer remains where they will send Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, the 13th pick of the 2026 Draft, and two first-round picks. All this for the Giannis swap. So, Miami is the favorite right now, but the Bucks really have not been enamored with the Heat’s offer so far. And that’s why the Celtics still have the chance.

Recently, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said Giannis is willing to sign a long contract in Boston. Since Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready to extend with the Celtics, this gives Boston huge leverage that they did not have before, as they can negotiate and maximize the potential from this deal.

“He’d be willing to extend his contract if he were traded there too, league sources say,” Windhorst wrote.

Previously, Bill Simmons also stated that Boston apparently made an offer within the past week. However, he acknowledged that he did not know which players or assets were included.

So the frontrunners’ problem is the same one that’s been sitting there since February: neither Miami’s package nor Boston’s vague one has cleared the bar Milwaukee already set for itself.

That’s exactly the gap Portland and Orlando are positioned to fill. Milwaukee’s owner wants this resolved by draft night and a team holding the Bucks’ own picks, or one with a coach who still has Jon Horst’s number, doesn’t need to win a bidding war.