Well, the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes have concluded.

10 minutes before the clock struck midnight on Tuesday, news broke from ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania that the Milwaukee Bucks traded Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for a package that included Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis. 

Additionally, the Bucks received three first-round picks, which included the No. 13 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft that began on Tuesday, one pick swap and one second-round pick, per Charania. Wow.

The Heat were in a tight race with the Boston Celtics to acquire Antetokounmpo, and Boston would have been compelled to part with Jaylen Brown to acquire the two-time MVP. Readers may be asking why I bring all this up on a page dedicated to news surrounding the Orlando Magic, and my response is twofold. 

The first part is that Miami’s outgoing assets for Antetokounmpo clearly demonstrates why Orlando could never have hoped to obtain him, despite some speculation coming from the NBA media ecosystem. Would the Magic have been willing to give up Franz Wagner or Jalen Suggs to get Antetokounmpo? Would they have wanted to part with Paolo Banchero at some point in the future? Unlikely.

In recent episodes of the Full Court Magic podcast, I have provided my take on Antetokounmpo coming to Orlando, both on my own and alongside my colleague Andrew Cherico, and why it was not going to happen, and this deal is a perfect illustration of why it wouldn't.

On June 12, I recorded episode 27 of Full Court Magic, and I provided these thoughts:

"I don't think that this is a group right now, first of all, that is in a position to acquire Giannis reasonably, or one that really has a great deal of interest in it, especially when you have President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman at the helm.

I just don't see Jeff Weltman playing into this. I don't see him being interested. This is someone who has ad nauseam, proverbially pounding the table, talked about how injuries have affected this group, and how he believes in his heart of hearts—this is my analysis of him, this isn't a quote from him, by the way, I want to make that clear—in his heart of hearts, that the Magic would have progressed further in the playoffs and finally punched through the ceiling, that is, the first round, had they been healthy.

Had Franz Wagner not suffered that Game 4 calf strain that took him out for that series against Detroit, right? Like, this is someone, an executive, whose belief in his current group is so strong, I am hard-pressed to believe that any move of substantial value will get done this summer, not just because of the Magic's first-apron financial constraints that are placed on them as a result of being a first-apron team, but solely because of Weltman's view on the group."

On top of my thoughts expressed during the episode, the Magic do not have the draft capital available that Miami had to give up for Antetokounmpo along with four roster pieces. Orlando did have that type of negotiating power a summer ago, but it was used in the trade for Desmond Bane in June 2025.

So, take the fact that Weltman generally operates conservatively in his role as president of basketball operations, along with the fact that the Magic were never going to dismantle their core group of players for Antetokounmpo, and any rumors about him being realistically connected to The City Beautiful were just that: rumors. 

Perhaps Antetokounmpo will bring his family to Disney World this offseason, and the Magic will witness plenty of him as he dons the uniform of their Southeast Division and in-state rivals, but that is all Magic fans will see of Antetokounmpo in Orlando.

Speaking of Southeast Division rivals, the Magic must prepare for a more difficult landscape than before because of Antetokounmpo’s presence. Last season, Orlando dominated Miami to the tune of a 5-0 sweep in the regular season, which included a win in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup knockout stage that eliminated the Heat.

It won’t be that easy in 2026-27, especially if Antetokounmpo remains healthy. The Magic made a significant change when they chose to fire Jamahl Mosley and replace him with incoming head coach Sean Sweeney, but that may be the only significant move that gets made this offseason.

In that case, Weltman better hope that his bet on health and the team’s potential pays off, because the biggest fish of the offseason just landed on the shores of South Beach.

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