u/FlightTop9852

Free agents Miami is expected to target with its very limited financial flexibility after its blockbuster deal to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee? We've heard two names all morning.

League sources say that the Heat will have strong interest in the veteran duo of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Mike Conley Jr.

https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/lots-more-of-the-nbas-latest-trade?r=1m9zg&utm\_medium=ios

>The Wolves could not afford to run it back again after making minimal changes to the group in the summer of 2025, especially after watching Towns win a championship in New York this season. Edwards wants to win right now, and the Wolves are banking on addition by subtraction, believing that removing Randle’s ISO-heavy offensive game and redistributing his 15.3 shots per game to McDaniels and Reid will open things up for Minnesota in a different way.

>McDaniels took a big step forward with his offense, averaging a career-high 14.8 points and shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. Barring another trade for a more proven star, McDaniels will assume the role of the No. 2 offensive option on the team behind Edwards. His increased playmaking and shot creation last season, coupled with a dominant playoff series against Denver, gave the Wolves hope that he is ready for a bigger role on a consistent basis.

>Reid will give the Wolves more spacing than Randle did. He is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter, which will give the Wolves starting lineup much-needed spacing. Randle converted just 31 percent from deep last season, which combined with Rudy Gobert’s non-existent shooting to allow opposing defenses to load up on Edwards at the point of attack. Reid’s shooting and quick decision-making should breathe some life into the Wolves offense and give Edwards a little bit more room to operate.

Source

With the Milwaukee Bucks’ self-imposed deadline of Tuesday’s first round of the NBA Draft fast approaching, there remains some mystery as to whether the Bucks will, in fact, follow the playbook laid out by co-owner Jimmy Haslam.

The Boston Celtics, as has been the case for some time now, have serious interest and remain a significant threat to derail Miami Heat president Pat Riley’s plans in the 11th hour of negotiations. If, that is, the Celtics are willing to do what it takes before this (unofficial) buzzer sounds to get a deal done.

Of all the questions that remain unanswered on this front, and which will likely dictate how it all ends, that might top the list. The Celtics have gone to great lengths to avoid the elephant in the room here, but Jaylen Brown would need to be part of any deal for Antetokounmpo. And if Boston had its way, it seems, the conversation would start and end there with a one-for-one swap of fellow All-Stars who are still in their respective primes (Antetokounmpo is 31; Brown is 29). Lest anyone forgets, Brown is coming off his best season yet, finishing sixth in MVP voting.

It’s unclear if the Bucks would look to build around Brown as a centerpiece, as many rival executives have recently predicted, or perhaps rebuild by sending him elsewhere for young players and picks. But whichever path they might select, it’s widely believed that Brown alone wouldn’t be enough for Milwaukee.

Boston could add up to three future first-round picks in the deal, and the fact that Antetokounmpo is known to be comfortable signing an extension with the Celtics should, in theory, compel them to go all-in here. After all, Antetokounmpo is a champion, two-time MVP and former Defensive Player of the Year whose overall body of work far exceeds Brown’s. All-time greats who plan on dominating for years to come just don’t hit the market all that often.

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).

Speaking of Plan Bs, league sources say the Portland Trail Blazers would have serious interest in Brown if the Celtics made him available. The Blazers have been among the suitors for Antetokounmpo since the February trade deadline but appear to be on the outside looking in at the moment. Similarly, league sources say the Minnesota Timberwolves — whose Antetokounmpo pursuit also appears to have cooled — have strong interest in the Celtics’ Derrick White.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7375466/2026/06/19/giannis-antetokounmpo-nba-trade-jaylen-brown/?source=user\_shared\_article&unlocked\_article\_code=1.rVA.mjyT.f5hguJamyLCu

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7353314/2026/06/12/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-draft-day-deadline/?source=user\_shared\_article&unlocked\_article\_code=1.plA.wrr-.jlWM72vvswZV

The Timberwolves, meanwhile, are also seen by some as an emerging option for the Bucks. While Antetokounmpo is known to prefer a trade involving a team in the Eastern Conference, league sources say the Bucks are interested in what Minnesota has to offer. If the Timberwolves want to get into the mix, league sources say the Bucks would want a package including Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, Terrence Shannon Jr. and their two tradable first-round picks (No. 29 in this year’s draft and their 2033 pick). Yet considering McDaniels’ immense value alongside Edwards as an elite perimeter defender, as well as his impressive postseason performance, team sources say Minnesota has indicated that McDaniels is off limits. Per those sources, the same goes for 19-year-old big man Joan Beringer.