NBA rumors: Giannis trade race down to two teams, Bucks could trade up in the NBA Draft

With the NBA world still buzzing after the New York Knicks' epic Game 4 comeback in the 2026 NBA Finals, it is perhaps easy to forget that the league's summer transaction cycle is just beginning to simmer. The NBA Draft arrives in less than two weeks and, with that as something of an unofficial kick-off for the summer madness, here is a look at three intriguing NBA trade rumors emerging in mid-June.

Giannis race down to two teams?

It is not a secret that the Miami Heat are in the heart of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade pursuit, even if the Heat may not have the most attractive offer overall. However, Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo (h/t Reddit) recently shared a belief that the trade race could be down to two teams, with the Boston Celtics joining the fray.

"I am here to add that I have heard Boston is shopping people around a lot right now," O'Connor said. "Boston is making calls. Boston is open to trading anybody besides Jayson Tatum. And that doesn't necessarily mean that they land Giannis at the end of the day, but I do believe, based off of all the conversations I've had, that the Celtics are in on Giannis. And that they are making a push on him, and that this seems to be currently a two-team race with Milwaukee to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo."

Boston could perhaps put Jaylen Brown on the table as a potential trump card in an offer to Giannis, even if Brown may be re-routed to a third team in that case. It remains to be seen what Milwaukee's priorities might be, as well as how much of a thumb Giannis himself wants to put on the scale, but things could be heating up in the near future.

Could the Bucks move up in the 2026 draft?

Most speculation around the Bucks right now centers on Giannis and potential trades that could reset Milwaukee's roster in a major way. However, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line writes that the Bucks are "signaling to rival teams and agents alike" that they play to have "an additional first-round pick" on top of the No. 10 overall selection they already own. And, beyond that, the Bucks reportedly "have also left some opposing front offices with the impression that they would like to trade up in the lottery if possible."

This is an intriguing report in that the Bucks are clearly juggling different things at once in that the Giannis business almost certainly comes first and flows through everything else. With that said, Milwaukee may covet a specific prospect (or multiple prospects) above their range at No. 10 overall and, if they choose a longer-term vision after a Giannis move, Milwaukee's front office may want to anchor it to specific first-year players.

Hornets, Raptors potential landing spots for Sabonis?

Rumblings have emerged that the Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets held at least exploratory talks about a swap involving Domantas Sabonis in recent days. Given Charlotte's massive step forward in 2025-26 and uncertainty at the center position, there is some logic to that, but Jake Fischer notes that, the Hornets are "not currently willing to surrender" either the No. 14 or No. 18 picks in a move for Sabonis.

Elsewhere, Fischer points out that the Kings "have interest" in Toronto's No. 19 overall pick, and the Raptors and Kings have discussed Sabonis in the past. Toronto does have a long-term deal on the books for Jakob Poeltl that is widely viewed as negative value around the league, though, and Fischer reports that "if the Kings reach the point of parting with Sabonis, they also hope to do so by taking back as little future salary as possible."

That reality could prove challenging for Toronto, but it also remains to be seen how aggressive Sacramento may end up being in Sabonis talks, particularly if the Kings plan to engineer a larger overall roster shift around the No. 7 pick in this year's draft.

More NBA news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow