Well, it happened, the NBA offseason is no longer being held hostage and can finally get underway as Giannis Antetokounmpo has been traded to the Miami Heat. The two finalists for the Greek Freak were the Celtics and the Heat, with Miami able to offer more young players, a lottery pick, and additional future draft capital. My quick thoughts are this will age poorly for the Heat, and they grossly overpaid, but that’s not why you clicked on this piece. You clicked on it to hear why this deal could seriously impact the Pelicans.
BLOCKBUSTER: The Milwaukee Bucks are trading franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 3 first-round picks (including No. 13), 1 pick swap and 1 second-rounder, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/NQT5ZhdJU9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2026
It’s no longer a forgotten detail that the Pelicans own the rights to Milwaukee’s first-round pick next season from the Jrue Holiday trade back in 2020. That pick is a golden ticket for New Orleans with Milwaukee entering a shift, but it’s not the only possibility this Giannis deal has opened up for Joe Dumars and the Pels.
Jaylen Brown was previously named as a target for the Pelicans, and with all the discourse surrounding him and his future in Boston, I wouldn’t be shocked to hear him ask out.
The Giannis trade is bound to create a snowball effect that the Pelicans can benefit from
The first thought that came to my head after this Giannis trade was, could this give the Pelicans a path to getting that lottery selection they’ve been reportedly chasing? With the Bucks getting a trio of Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Kasparas Jakucionis, they have a solid young foundation on top of their own pick at No. 10. So would it be crazy to suggest they’d entertain giving up pick No. 13 that they got from Miami for their own pick back in year one of the post-Giannis era? I don’t think so.
Sure, a second lottery selection, if I’m the Bucks, would be huge. However, what might bring more value and long-term upside is being able to control my own destiny next season.
The other thought I had is with New Orleans needing a center and potentially one that could space the floor, could they target Ware? Maybe the pair of Tyler Herro and Ware for Jordan Poole and the Bucks pick back could be a possibility. It would give the Pelicans two more floor spacers and the Bucks an expiring salary, as well as a chance to really tank next season.
Now back to Jaylen Brown. I recently shut down the idea of trading Trey Murphy III for JB, but if he were to ask out of Boston, that possibility seems more likely. Obviously, it wouldn’t be Murphy III and picks for Brown, but throw in Dejounte Murray or Herb Jones and Yves Missi, and things definitely get interesting for the Celtics.
Whether it’s getting the franchise's first superstar since CP3 in Jaylen Brown, getting into the lottery, or bringing in natural fits like Tyler Herro and Kel’el Ware, something is brewing. The entire league has been waiting for this late-night Shams tweet. Now that we have it, the offseason is about to get real, and the Pelicans are bound to play a huge part in it.
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