NBA rumors: Insider thinks Bucks should’ve tried trading Damian Lillard for LeBron due to Giannis

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NBA rumors: Insider thinks Bucks should’ve tried trading Damian Lillard for LeBron due to Giannis

Josue Pavon, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, Jul 9, 2026 ·

3 min read

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NBA rumors: Insider thinks Bucks should've tried trading Damian Lillard for LeBron due to Giannis appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

While heading back to the Miami Heat to team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo is a real possibility for LeBron James , it is the kind of pitch Milwaukee Bucks fans wish could have helped lure the future Hall of Fame forward for former Bucks guard Damian Lillard . Looking back, it should have been a no-brainer for the Bucks front office.

Now, Antetokounmpo has another chance to play alongside James as members of the Heat, which could be enough of a draw for LeBron to make his return, according to The Stein Line's Jake Fischer.

"A reunion with Cleveland , A reunion with Miami, especially after the Heat figured out a way to finally get Giannis to South Beach; those two teams have always seemed like the two leaders in this clubhouse because of the storybook opportunity… Miami, of course, he won two championships; the history with that organization is there… I do believe that the opportunity of playing with Giannis, he's been considering and looked at for a bit here."

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Failing to reach the Eastern Conference Finals with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo , the Bucks ultimately never found their footing before Lillard's ruptured Achilles in 2024-25. He was traded to the Portland Blazers that following offseason.

Is Giannis Antetokounmpo excited over possibly playing with LeBron James ?

Heat All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo could join forces with LeBron James for reasons outside of basketball; teaming up with Antetokounmpo is a significant draw. Familiarity helps, which James, of course, has with the Heat after leading them to two championships in four seasons.

When you put it all together, you can see why the Heat has one of the best odds of signing James, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

"There's a draw with Miami. Pat Riley is a draw. I think Erik Spoelstra is a draw, once again, all these years later. I haven't gotten any feel that there's still tension between LeBron and Pat Riley that would detour him from that," Charania said. "I think Bam and Giannis are big draws for him too. He played Team USA with Bam. He has a lot of respect for Bam. Giannis would want LeBron in Miami, as well, from my understanding. No state taxes there. You played in Miami.

"I think what Rich Paul was trying to do with his podcast, and I think he did, was lay out that, yeah, it's about basketball. It's about culture. It's about environment — I think another layer to that, probably third, fourth down, is living conditions; what does it look like year-round in January? And you think about Miami — it's Miami. You know about Miami. If you have two teams that are basically neck and neck, but one of them is based in Miami, you have no state taxes."

James will be announcing his decision soon.

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