The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for a record $12.5 billion, according to multiple reports. The shocking sale comes less than a year after Mark Walter bought the NBA team from the Buss family for $10 billion.
Reporting live on @SportsCenter -- on Giannis Antetokounmpo landing in Miami, the Bucks deciding between the Heat and Celtics, and the Boston-Jaylen Brown dynamics after he was offered in talks:
Full ESPN story on the Milwaukee Bucks dealing two-time NBA MVP and 2021 Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat for a haul of players and picks, ending a 13-month trade saga: https://t.co/LEOOoEiHUe
The Celtics aggressively pursued Giannis, offering Milwaukee a package featuring 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks, sources tell ESPN. The Bucks seriously negotiated with two finalists in recent weeks: Miami and Boston, which were both on Antetokounmpo’s list of preferred destinations.
Heat president Pat Riley now makes his long-anticipated new landmark acquisition, with Antetokounmpo joining elite Miami pickups such as LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh, Alonzo Mourning and Jimmy Butler over the past 30-plus years. Riley will pair the two-time NBA MVP and 2021 Finals MVP with Bam Adebayo to lead contention in the Eastern Conference.
After informing teams that they were open for business at the NBA draft combine in May, Bucks general manager Jon Horst landed a haul with the Heat’s offer that brings high-level starting/rotation players and young talent, as well as significant draft capital.
The Heat are sending to Milwaukee unprotected first-rounders in 2031 and 2033 along with No. 13, a pick swap in 2030 and a 2033 second-rounder, according to sources.
The trade does not include any additional teams -- it is a one-to-one move, sources said -- but both the Heat and Bucks will execute the deal on July 6, which leaves the framework open to see if there are opportunities to expand.