Celtics Take Major Step Toward Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade, Report Says
The Boston Celtics are not done. That is the message coming out of TD Garden this week, and the report that they have taken a significant step toward putting together a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade offer is exactly the kind of news that should put the rest of the league on notice.
According to multiple sources, including reporting from Bill Simmons, Boston has been quietly assembling the framework for a Giannis trade offer that could match or beat whatever Miami can put together. The Heat have long been considered the frontrunner for the Bucks star if and when he asks out. Boston wants the rest of the league to know they are still in this thing.
Here is what Boston has to work with. Jayson Tatum’s torn Achilles is a complication, but Tatum will be back. Derrick White is one of the best two-way guards in the league. Jaylen Brown has already brought home a Finals MVP. Sam Hauser is a useful shooter. The Celtics also have draft picks, real ones, including the choice they got in the Holiday trade.
The most likely framework is brutal. Brown plus the picks plus matching salary in exchange for Giannis. Brown is younger than people remember, only 29, with a contract that runs through 2029. He is exactly the kind of star piece Milwaukee would need to start a real rebuild instead of accepting a pile of picks and asking fans to wait five years.
This is where the Celtics’ fan base has to make peace with something uncomfortable. If you trade Jaylen Brown, you are breaking up the duo that just won a championship two summers ago. You are taking a player who was the Finals MVP and the heart of the team and shipping him out to bring in a 31-year-old superstar with a long injury history.
And it might still be the right move. Giannis at 31 is the third best player in the world when healthy. He fits next to Tatum because Tatum spaces the floor and Giannis provides interior gravity. Defensively, a Tatum, Giannis, White, Hauser, Porzingis lineup might be the best in the league. The Celtics would instantly be the favorite to win the East again.
The Heat counter has its own logic. Miami can offer Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyler Herro, and a wave of first-round picks. They have culture. They have Erik Spoelstra. They have a track record of squeezing championship-level performance out of stars.
Here is the part that should keep Brad Stevens up at night. Milwaukee will choose the package they think gives them the best chance to compete fastest. Brown does that. He is younger than anything Miami can send, and he is a better player than anything in the Heat package.
The next ten days are going to be wild. The Celtics are still the favorite to win the East next year, even if they stand pat. If they pull off the Giannis trade, they are not just the favorite. They are the favorite for the next four seasons. The Bucks will pick up the phone. Boston is making sure of it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
