It’s not often that an executive is attached to league-altering trades in two different sports, but Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam can etch his name in the trivia books after this summer.
In the span of a month, Haslam-led teams traded both NFL All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett (to the Los Angeles Rams) and NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (to the Miami Heat), ringing in new eras for both the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
Haslam has been known to have some questionable transactions under his watch, and the latest gambits were both eye-opening to fans, analysts – and even family members — like Haslam’s 95-year-old dad.
Speaking with reporters, Haslam said his father, Jim Haslam, had a small reality check moment with him in the wake of the deals.
“My dad’s 95 and a half, but still follows every sports move we make, and he called me up after we traded Giannis and said, ‘Do you know that in the last month you’ve traded Myles Garrett and Giannis?,'” Haslam told reporters with a laugh recently. “I said, ‘Yes, sir, I know that.'”
As a minority co-owner of the Bucks, Haslam had a hand in dealing Antetokounmpo to the Heat in July, ending a years-long saga of whether or not the team would deal the superstar. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to an NBA championship in the 2021 NBA Finals and also added league MVPs to his mantle.
Garrett didn’t have the luxury of being a piece of a championship team in Cleveland, but earned plenty of personal accolades, including two Defensive Player of the Year awards and five first-team All-Pro nods (while also becoming the single-season sack record holder in 2025).
Haslam weighs in on Giannis trade
The trade that sent Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat rocked the NBA as one of the biggest dominos of a massive summer across the league.
Haslam said he believes rebuilding in the NBA is more difficult than in the NFL, and that the only way to judge the Antetokounmpo deal is by what happens next. The Bucks netted Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Kasparas Jakučionis in the deal, alongside multiple picks.
“Listen, it’s all about what you get, and Giannis is a generational player, won a championship, but we felt the need to get younger,” Haslam said. “He was the best asset we had. We had mortgaged our future going forward and I think we got four really good players, and we got two draft picks – No. 1 draft picks – couple of swaps, and second, so, time will tell.
“We’ve gotta use those picks wisely – just like we have to do with the Myles trade – but cautious optimism. Although, you gotta be realistic, rebuilding is no fun.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Browns owner says his 95-year-old dad gave gut check on Garrett, Giannis trades
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