Basketball Wiretap

The Milwaukee Bucks have exhibited a heightened urgency to reach a trade involving Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of the NBA draft on Tuesday, June 23rd, sources tell ESPN. Co-owner Jimmy Haslam went on the record indicating that the Bucks planned to trade Antetokounmpo by the draft if he didn't firmly commit his future to the Bucks. Because of Antetokounmpo's still to be determined trade status, other teams are in a holding pattern on their own offseason plans.

"It seems like everyone else's business is on hold until we see what happens with Giannis," said an East scout.

The Bucks trading Antetokounmpo is still not guaranteed. Moving a superstar on a large contract is difficult under the NBA's current apron rules, and Milwaukee carries dead money on its books through the end of the decade while holding minimal future draft capital.

Those factors could make a player-focused return package more appealing to the Bucks. Recent changes to draft lottery rules add further complexity to any potential negotiation.

What Milwaukee requires in a deal, and whether Antetokounmpo will publicly declare a preferred destination and signal he would only sign an extension with that team remain unanswered questions. Sources say the Miami Heat retain strong interest and would be the primary beneficiary of that scenario.

Antetokounmpo has consistently declined to publicly request a trade or name preferred destinations in recent years, and that posture is not expected to shift.

Miami can offer a package built around All-Star guard Tyler Herro, a Wisconsin native, alongside younger players including Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis. Should the Cleveland Cavaliers or Orlando Magic enter the bidding, both could potentially surpass Miami's offer if players such as Evan Mobley or Paolo Banchero are made available.

The Boston Celtics have resurfaced in trade rumors involving Antetokounmpo this week.

The Boston Celtics have emerged with potential trade interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo, which would almost certainly mean Jaylen Brown would be outgoing to team beyond the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks have been three teams typically broached as having interest in Brown should he become available. Brown will turn 30 in October and has $183 million over the next three seasons remaining on his existing contract.

Brown is coming off the best season of his career as he led the Celtics to the second best record in the Eastern Conference despite playing most of the season without Jayson Tatum.

If the Bucks trade Antetokounmpo to the Celtics, they're not expected to have interest in keeping Brown for themselves as they're prioritizing future draft capital and young players as they rebuild with the trade of their two-time MVP.

The Blazers own multiple future draft picks originating with the Bucks, which puts them in a unique position to participate in an Antetokounmpo trade.

The Rockets would afford Brown an opportunity to reunite with his former head coach in Ime Udoka.

Brown is also a native of Atlanta, which have created links to the Hawks over the years.

In a recent appearance on The Pat McAffee Show, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports said that "10-12 teams" have interest in LeBron James ahead of free agency. However, Paul cautioned that doesn't mean anything is actually happening with James' impending free agency.

"Believe nothing that's out there because I haven't had one conversation with him," Paul said about discussing free agency with the Los Angeles Lakers superstar.

James is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka says that the team hopes to bring James back for his 24th NBA season and ninth season in Los Angeles.

If the Lakers do not re-sign James, they could have nearly $50 million in cap space this offseason. That would go a long way towards a team resetting their roster around Luka Doncic and a presumably re-signed Austin Reaves.

Teams linked to James in free agency have been the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. With the Warriors, James would team up with Stephen Curry to chase a title. A move to the Cavaliers would bring James back full circle to where his career began in Cleveland. To sign with either the Cavs or the Warriors, the NBA's all-time leading scorer would likely have to take a significant pay cut. Neither team projects to have any kind of meaningful spending power this offseason beyond the Non-Taxpayer or Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception.

The New Orleans Pelicans have received considerable trade interest in Trey Murphy III, but the organization has not shopped him. All inquiries have been inbound under general manager Joe Dumars, but this does mark the first time the franchise has genuinely entertained offers for Murphy.

The Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers are among the teams that have expressed interest.

Teams pursuing Murphy, however, have encountered a firm asking price from New Orleans.

"They want a lot," one interested team told ESPN this week.

Murphy is on a four-year, $112 million contract through the 2029 offseason. Murphy will make just $27 million next season. Murphy is represented by Sean Kennedy.

Murphy appeared in 66 games last season and averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 37.9 percent on three-pointers.

The Dallas Mavericks are communicating to teams that Kyrie Irving is not available in a trade, sources told Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

The Mavs have received trade inquiries for Irving this offseason, though Masai Ujiri has said that he wants to see how Irving fits with Cooper Flagg. 

The Pistons and Wolves have been mentioned as teams interested in Irving. 

Stein adds that the Mavs are open to trading Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford.

It was also reported that the team is willing to deal the No. 9 pick in the upcoming draft. 

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Nikola Topic recently underwent a minimally invasive lumbar microdiscectomy procedure. The Thunder say that Topic is expected to be ready in time for training camp ahead of next season.

Topic's run of bad luck with injuries and illnesses continued with this surgery. The young guard missed his rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft. Then, Topic was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the early stages of this season.

While Topic has played minimal NBA minutes, he was solid in the G League while ramping up this season. The 6-foot-6 point guard averaged 18.4 points, 7.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 28 minutes per game over 13 G League appearances.

Spanish guard Segio De Larrea is keeping his name in the 2026 NBA Draft as an Early Entry Candidate. De Larrea is entering the draft as a 20-year-old and will turn 21 years old in early December.

The 6-foot-5 has spent the last two full seasons with Valencia Basket in Spain. This season, De Larrea averaged 7.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 67 games across all competitions.

De Larrea's draft position ranges from late in the first round to early in the second round. Most expect that the Spanish guard will land a standard NBA contract vs a two-way deal.

Italian center Luigi Suigo has withdrawn as an Early Entry Candidate from the 2026 NBA Draft. Suigo will now enroll and spend next season at Villanova.

The 7-foot-3 center played for KK Mega Bemax in Serbia last season. In 26 games, Suigo averaged 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and a block in 18.4 minutes per game.

Most mock drafts had Suigo rated as a late first-round pick. The hope is after a strong season at Villanova that the 19-year-old center will improve his stock for the 2027 NBA Draft.

German guard Jack Kayil is keeping his name in the 2026 NBA Draft as an Early Entry Candidate. Kayil is currently playing for Alba Berlin and is in the midst of the German BBL against Bayern Munich.

The 20-year-old guard has averaged 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a steal in 61 games across all competitions this season. Kayil has also played for teams in Montenegro and Serbia in his professional career.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden was arrested in the early hours Saturday on a misdemeanor gun violation. Harden was accused of carrying an unconcealed weapon. He was released on a general bond and is scheduled to appear in court on June 22 to face the charges.

Harden was traveling in a group of five vehicles. When one of the other vehicles was stopped by police, Harden pulled up behind it. It was then that the officers noticed a gun in the cup holder of Harden's vehicle. Harden told the officers that the weapon was his and he was arrested and booked into Harris County jail.