The Celtics are expected to undergo some significant changes this offseason, and somehow acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo would certainly qualify as significant.
For many reasons, Boston swinging a summertime trade for the Milwaukee Bucks superstar seems borderline make-believe. There’s no hard evidence that Milwaukee is itching to make such a move, Antetokounmpo himself hasn’t publicly demanded anything, and even if it came to that, it’s hard to believe the two Eastern Conference foes would be willing to do business.
And that’s all before you even consider the uncertainty about the Celtics’ future in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s devastating Achilles injury.
However, Antetokounmpo is an NBA superstar, on the short list of the best in the entire league. The Bucks have seemingly hit a wall and might be nearing a reset. The Celtics have their own issues to contemplate with everything from Tatum’s injury to the salary cap situation to new ownership and everything in between.
But, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst pointed out Thursday, it could make some sense. Windhorst said on ESPN’s “Get Up” that Antetokounmpo might see the Eastern Conference as the better path back to the NBA Finals. If that’s the case, there are only a few teams — the Celtics, even with uncertainty, among them — that are legitimate championship contenders moving forward.
Story continues below advertisement
“I’m listening to Chris Finch last night for the Timberwolves, and he’s saying that next year he thinks 13 teams will trying to win, and a great team could go 42-40, and I didn’t disagree with him. I think Giannis will see that, too, and the move for Giannis that he doesn’t control is to go to the East.”
Pressed on the teams in the East who could make a run at Antetokounmpo, Windhorst speculated it could make for a Boston-New York arms race.
“I think you have to look at the teams that could make a trade for Giannis that the Bucks would accept and on the other side of the trade would have a contending team, so Boston would be on that list,” he said. “Boston would be on that list. I think New York would be on that list. There’s some difficulty when you talk about aprons and second-apron teams trying to make trades, and that’s a reality, but there are some teams in the Eastern Conference who could construct an ability to get this done.”
Story continues below advertisement
The Celtics certainly have apron issues to worry about as it pertains to the cap, which is a big reason they’re expected to be active this summer. Acquiring Antetokounmpo, who carries a minimum cap hit of $54 million over the next two seasons with a player option for a third, doesn’t exactly fix that accounting. Parting with Jaylen Brown is the obvious move in that scenario, at least to make the money start to work. As for why the Celtics would want to trade Brown, who is younger than Antetokounmpo, would likely hinge on how Boston feels about the latter.
