The Milwaukee Bucks’ saga with Giannis Antetokounmpo seems to be extending endlessly at this point. The Miami Heat have been reported as the frontrunners in this race for several weeks now to land Antetokounmpo with a trade package around Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez, and multiple draft assets.
Michael Wilbon’s words may have just given the Bucks’ front office clarity of why they should see this trade go through as soon as possible. The veteran ESPN commentator piled onto the Greek superstar during a recent apperance on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption.
“With the actual NBA season now over, Giannis talk is back in the headlines. Mark Stein is reporting that the Heat has made an offer for the forward that includes Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. And Bill Simmons says he’s heard the Celtics have also made a bid and that he believes Giannis will be a Celtic within the week,” Wilbon said initially.
“This is interesting to me because I don’t believe in Giannis anymore. Giannis is a rumor. Giannis hadn’t done jack in the months that matter, which would be May and June since 2021. Five years is forever in professional sports. Giannis is a multiple-time MVP, a great player, a Hall of Famer, and as you said, a champion, he was that.”
“I ain’t seen evidence of it [recently]. Sorry, a league can now, particularly the NBA, it can pass you by. And with a ton of wings who are 6’9″, 6’10” sort of size, Dybantsa, and Caleb Wilson and those kids coming in the league, Giannis can look obsolete fairly quickly if he can’t get his butt out there and contribute heavily, massively in May, June.”
“And I don’t know that I would not rearrange my franchise for Giannis. Tyler Herro leads his team in scoring. He’s an All-Star. I know he’s had some injury issues at times, but he plays more than Giannis lately. And he doesn’t seem to be the diva that Giannis is.”
“So, if it sounds like I’m piling on Giannis, yeah, a little bit for a guy as a player I used to love, I love him less now because I ain’t seen nothing lately.”
“I don’t know that I’d want to give up Jaylen Brown for him because Tatum has to show me that he is truly completely healthy and we don’t know that just yet,” Wilbon concluded.
The Bucks’ front office had been stalling until the end of the NBA Finals to hear potential offers from the Knicks, had they lost to the Spurs. Now that the Finals are over, there is no reason for the Bucks to further delay the trade negotiations.
Among all the offers on their table, the Heat’s offer seems to be most exciting for the Bucks and if their front office is listening to Michael Wilbon’s words, they may get convinced to push this deal through soon.
Giannis Antetokounmpo played only 36 games this season due to a lingering calf injury, where he averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while shooting 62.4% from the field.
In comparison, Tyler Herro averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while going 48.0% from the field in 33 games played. But even he had a left ankle surgery that kept him sidelined for the first half of the season.
So recent performances don’t necessarily say that Tyler Herro is more reliable than Giannis Antetokounmpo or can contribute to winning basketball better than Antetokounmpo. But if you combine him with young forwards like Jaime Jaquez Jr. (former All Rookie first team 2024) and Kel’el Ware (former All Rookie second team 2025), it gives the Bucks a significant young core to potentially build around.
In my opinion, Michael Wilbon is piling into Giannis Antetokounmpo simply because the Greek superstar is oscillating between saying he wants out or wants to stay loyal with the Bucks. His frustration seems to stem from Giannis’ overindulgence in off-court narratives instead of playing winning basketball.
The lack of clarity is neither doing him nor the team any good and his desire to not seem like the bad guy is making him look like a diva. I’m not sure if Wilbon has been put up to this by the Heat’s front office, but his words might push the Bucks’ front office to take action on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
