The Boston Celtics might not be out of the race for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo just yet, if this new report is to be believed. According to Bill Simmons, Boston may be looking to acquire Giannis, who may also welcome a trade to the Celtics.
“I thought Boston was out of this. I know Boston was out of this. I was wondering if they were playing possum or not. I think they were playing a little possum. I think they are in on Giannis," Simmons said on 'The Bill Simmons Podcast.'
"I’m not recanting what I said before. I don’t know the reasons for it. Maybe they felt like Miami’s offer is an offer they could beat. Maybe they want to drive the price of Miami’s offer up and don’t really have interest in him. Giannis is pushing for Miami or Boston. Those are the two locations and really wants to end up in Boston because he would have the best chance to win a title. Boston is not ruling out the idea is my intel. In general, I’m prepared for anything with Boston now.”
After a disappointing end to the season, it made sense to ponder whether Boston would look to make a huge move, and trading for Giannis would definitely qualify as such. Simmons' report contradicts the recent report from Brian Windhorst, who doesn't expect the Celtics to move either Derrick White or Jaylen Brown.
For any trade for Giannis to work, Boston would have to part with either of them.
So, how could Boston go about making a trade for Giannis?
Celtics could trade Jaylen Brown to get Giannis Antetokounmpo
Of the two options, the simpler trade is a straight-up swap of Brown for Giannis. Contractually, both of them have very similar contracts, with the difference being minimal, allowing this to be a one-for-one swap. Obviously, more would be involved, either in picks or maybe some extra players, but this is the simplest way for Boston to get the Greek Freak.
While Brown is obviously the biggest trade chip that the Celtics have, who has been in trade rumors so far, the bigger question would be if Milwaukee would want him. Brown is a great player and coming off arguably his best season, but by moving Giannis, the Bucks would be looking to enter a rebuild, something the California native wouldn't be a part of. If Brown were to be involved, it wouldn't be surprising to see a third team enter the trade and acquire him instead, while also sending assets to the Bucks.
Moving Brown would signal a massive switch for the Celtics and Brad Stevens, by trading away the longest-tenured Celtic and former Finals MVP. While not on the level of player that Brown is, we have seen Stevens make tough moves like this before when he traded away Marcus Smart to acquire Kristaps Porzingis in the summer of 2023.
Boston could also trade Derrick White and more
The other way for Boston to trade for Giannis would let it create a Big Three with him, Tatum, and Brown, but it would cost them Derrick White, Sam Hauser, and Payton Pritchard for the money to work. While you'd keep Brown, it would come at the cost of losing a lot of your depth.
In this scenario, you are also probably sending out more picks than the first since the return isn't as good as the other. You could get a third team involved to help, but the depth of the Celtics would take a hit next season.
This trade would come down to how much faith Stevens has in the Celtics ' Big Three being able to overcome the depth concerns. We've seen how much a team's depth has mattered with the Thunder and Knicks. If Boston goes in the opposite direction, it's because of how much faith they'd have in the Big Three.
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