The Miami Heat reportedly made their entire roster available except for star big man Bam Adebayo in trade talks for Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Other than captain and three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo, according to a league source, the Heat made the rest of its roster available in trade negotiations for Antetokounmpo and was willing to do what it took to get a deal done,” the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang wrote. “The Heat’s offer received consideration, but the Bucks ultimately decided to keep Antetokounmpo at least for the remainder of this season.
“The Heat also registered some level of interest in Memphis Grizzlies two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant, but never aggressively pursued Morant ahead of Thursday’s deadline, according to a league source.”
There were conflicting reports about a potential Heat deal for Antetokounmpo at the deadline, and ultimately the Bucks decided to hold on to the two-time league MVP.
Antetokounmpo appeared to pledge his loyalty to the Bucks once the trade deadline passed on Thursday afternoon.
Legends don’t chase. They attract 💯😎 pic.twitter.com/62r1jg93vt
— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) February 5, 2026
Still, his future is likely to remain a topic of conversation. The Heat, unfortunately, will have to wait until the offseason for their next chance to land a big fish, but the good news is that they have assets. Miami has multiple draft picks that it can dangle in a trade, and it has a solid group of young players such as Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel’el Ware that also have value.
The Bucks will now proceed with Antetokounmpo on the roster for the rest of the 2025-26 season, although he’s currently out of the lineup with a calf injury. The Bucks are just the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference despite the fact that the 2021 NBA Finals MVP is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
As for the Heat, they didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline. Miami opted to stand pat despite being just the No. 7 seed in the East.
It is notable that the Heat were willing to trade guard Tyler Herro – an All-Star last season – in a potential deal for Antetokounmpo. Herro has played sparingly this season due to injury woes, and that could influence his future in Miami as the team plans for the offseason.
The Heat could still make some noise in the playoffs, but they are currently in the play-in tournament picture in the Eastern Conference. Miami ended up winning a pair of play-in games last season to nab the No. 8 seed, but it was promptly knocked out of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.