Giannis to Miami! An Urgent Gathering Pod With Chris Ryan and Justin Verrier

Episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast · June 23, 2026 · 52 min

Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan and Justin Verrier react to Giannis Antetokounmpo's trade to the Miami Heat and what it means for the Bucks, Celtics and Jaylen Brown.

Summary

Recorded the night the Milwaukee Bucks traded Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, Bill Simmons was joined by The Ringer's Chris Ryan and Justin Verrier. Simmons outlined the return for Milwaukee — Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Bobby Portis-era depth pieces, the 13th pick and future picks and swaps — and argued Miami had to take the gamble, while suggesting Milwaukee's front office favored a package that would keep it in power. Verrier said he always thought Miami's offer made more sense than Boston's Jaylen Brown-centered offer and that the Heat would have a physical, defensive identity; Ryan argued the Heat were a playoff team but not a title contender and that the Bucks needed a clean restart.

The conversation turned to the Boston Celtics, who had offered Jaylen Brown and picks. Simmons said he never thought the deal was right for Boston, praised Brown's playoff résumé, and estimated the chance Brown is still a Celtic in October at 50-50. Ryan said he did not believe Brown would play for Boston again, citing Brad Stevens's apparent unhappiness with the team's style, while Verrier hoped cooler heads would prevail and suggested Boston could instead retool with young players and picks.

The panel also discussed the Julius Randle trade, Trae Young's contract, FanDuel title odds that moved Miami to fifth, the strengthening Eastern Conference, Simmons's correct prediction that Hugo Gonzalez would not be included in any Celtics offer, new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon, the 76ers' direction, and predictions for the next day's 2026 NBA draft, including Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer.

Chapters

  1. 1:19

    Intro: an 'urgent' gathering

    Simmons introduces Chris Ryan and Justin Verrier to react to the long-awaited Giannis trade.

  2. 1:41

    The Heat land Giannis

    The panel breaks down Miami's package and debates whether the Heat are now a title contender.

  3. 5:07

    Milwaukee's side of the deal

    Simmons, Verrier and Ryan assess why the Bucks chose Miami's offer and what Bucks fans should think.

  4. 9:35

    Pat Riley, Miami swagger and Giannis's age

    Discussion of Miami's history of star acquisitions and how many elite years Giannis has left.

  5. 13:08

    Why the Celtics didn't get Giannis

    Simmons explains Boston's Jaylen Brown offer and why he never liked the trade for the Celtics.

  6. 16:30

    Randle trade and other moves

    The hosts react to the Julius Randle deal, Nick Claxton to the Bulls and Trae Young's contract.

  7. 19:22

    Jaylen Brown's future in Boston

    The panel debates whether Brown will remain a Celtic after being floated in trade talks.

  8. 30:12

    Can Miami build depth around Giannis?

    Discussion of Giannis's injury history, the Heat's player development and league-wide depth.

  9. 33:50

    Title odds and the Eastern Conference

    Simmons reads FanDuel championship odds and the group assesses the improving East.

  10. 36:03

    Hugo Gonzalez and untouchable prospects

    Simmons revisits his tweet that Hugo Gonzalez was never in Boston's offer and compares it to Rondo in the KG trade.

  11. 40:17

    Sixers and Trail Blazers outlook

    Ryan discusses the 76ers' search for an identity and Verrier criticizes new Blazers owner Tom Dundon.

  12. 42:34

    Draft predictions and sign-off

    The panel previews the 2026 NBA draft, including Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer, before wrapping up.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Justin Verrier

    Verrier said he always thought Miami's package made more sense for Milwaukee than Boston's offer.

    “I always thought Miami's package just made a little bit more sense than what the Celtics were offering”

    Listen from 2:05 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation

  • Chris Ryan

    Ryan argued the Giannis-led Heat may make the playoffs but are not a championship team.

    “This might be a playoff team in the East, but this is not a title team”

    Listen from 5:03 · Miami Heat

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons argued the Bucks' choice showed front offices favor trades that keep executives in their jobs.

    “front offices love nothing more than than trades that can keep themselves in power for a few years”

    Listen from 5:07 · Milwaukee Bucks

  • Justin Verrier

    Verrier said Milwaukee's fate was sealed by its failures the previous offseason, including the Damian Lillard waive-and-stretch.

    “I just think the die was cast when they fucked this last offseason”

    Listen from 6:47 · Milwaukee Bucks

  • Chris Ryan

    Ryan said the Bucks needed a clean break rather than incremental fixes.

    “You needed to amputate. This was no more cutting. No more little procedures”

    Listen from 8:04 · Milwaukee Bucks

  • Linked moment · 9:35Skip to 9:35 using a listen link in the info box.

    Justin Verrier

    Verrier argued the NBA is better when Miami plays a villain role.

    “I just think like the league is better when Miami is a villain in everything”

    Listen from 10:50 · Miami Heat

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons estimated Giannis has only one or two elite seasons left.

    “I think he has one, maybe two really, really, really elite years left”

    Listen from 11:46 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons said he never thought the Giannis deal was right for Boston and preferred other Jaylen Brown trades.

    “I didn't think this was the trade for Boston. I didn't like it. I didn't, I thought it was too risky and I thought there were better Jalen trades”

    Listen from 14:27 · Boston Celtics

  • Justin Verrier

    Verrier suggested Boston should trade Brown for young players and picks and bring Tatum back slowly.

    “And just like bring Tatum back along slowly so you could be like really, really good in two years”

    Listen from 15:09 · Boston Celtics

  • Justin Verrier

    Verrier defended the Bulls' acquisition of Nic Claxton as a fit for a young, running team.

    “I don't hate the Nick Claxton move for the Bulls. I just think if you're just building a fun young team”

    Listen from 18:55 · Julius Randle trade

  • Bill SimmonsPrediction · due Oct 2026

    Simmons predicted a 50-50 chance that Jaylen Brown is still on the Celtics in October 2026.

    “I'm not convinced he's going to be on the team in October, Barrett. I would say it's 50-50”

    Listen from 21:17 · Jaylen Brown trade rumors

  • Justin Verrier

    Verrier argued Brown would not get a team fully built around him elsewhere because the league is too talent-deep.

    “the league is just too talent deep at this point where you don't just get your team like it was 10 to 15 years ago”

    Listen from 27:06 · Jaylen Brown trade rumors

  • Justin Verrier

    Verrier said Miami must build depth around Giannis given his multi-year soft-tissue injury history.

    “it really is incumbent upon the Heat to figure the rest of this out”

    Listen from 31:36 · Miami Heat

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons argued finding cheap role players is harder now because NBA rosters are much deeper.

    “I think in 2027, that's a harder task than it was 15 years ago because the league is so fucking deep now”

    Listen from 31:59 · Miami Heat

  • Chris Ryan

    Ryan said several Eastern teams are better than Miami and the Heat won't jump ahead without a superpowered Giannis season.

    “I don't see Miami slingshotting ahead short of a Giannis superpower season”

    Listen from 35:56 · Eastern Conference (NBA)

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons cited his earlier tweet asserting Hugo Gonzalez would never be included in a Celtics offer, which proved correct.

    “I would be absolutely shocked if Hugo was, was, or is thrown into any honest trade offer”

    Listen from 36:21 · Boston Celtics

  • Chris Ryan

    Ryan predicted Jaylen Brown will not play for the Celtics again, citing Brad Stevens's apparent dissatisfaction.

    “I don't think he's going to play for the Celtics again. And I'm just basing that entirely off of how much Brad Stevens seemed unhappy”

    Listen from 39:07 · Jaylen Brown trade rumors

  • Justin Verrier

    Verrier criticized Tom Dundon as universally reviled and expected him to make a splashy offseason move.

    “I would be surprised if they went through this entire offseason and didn't do something splashy because he just wants to get his name on it”

    Listen from 41:51 · Portland Trail Blazers

  • Justin VerrierCame true

    Verrier predicted Darryn Peterson would be taken second overall in the 2026 NBA draft.

    “Yeah, Peterson's going to go two there. It's a little disappointing”

    Listen from 43:18 · 2026 NBA draft

People

In the conversation

  • Bill SimmonsSportswriter and founder of The Ringer, host of The Bill Simmons Podcast
  • Justin VerrierThe Ringer NBA editor and writer, Portland Trail Blazers fan
  • Chris RyanThe Ringer podcaster and TV/film critic

Discussed

Topics

More from The Bill Simmons Podcast

From the publisher

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Chris Ryan and Justin Verrier to react to Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded to Miami. (0:00) Intro (1:15) Heat trade for Giannis (13:26) Why didn’t the Giannis trade work for the Celtics? Host: Bill Simmons Guests: Chris Ryan and Justin Verrier Producers: Chia Hao Tat, Eduardo Ocampo, and Chris Wohlers Brought to you by PayPal. Learn more at paypal.com The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Basketball·Sports News