According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Boston Celtics were one of five teams (along with the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Cleveland Cavaliers) who pursued a trade for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of February's deadline.
With the Antetokounmpo-to-Boston discourse heating up (particularly following the Jaylen Brown trade speculation), many are already getting the trade machine running and seeing how this can become a reality.
But the fact of the matter is that the Celtics are better off giving up on their Antetokounmpo pursuit, regardless of how tempting acquiring him may be.
The Celtics shouldn't trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo
The "Greek Freak" is a two-time MVP, a one-time champion, and a future Hall of Famer. He is one of the game's best players of his generation, and he's still at the very least a top-five talent in the NBA.
He's also turning 32 years old in December, has knee and calf issues, is on the wrong side of his prime, and likely has just 2-3 years left in him to be the best player on a championship-level team. Plus, he's eligible for a four-year, $275 million contract extension in October, which seems like an inevitable disaster (you really want Boston to pay him close to $70 million at 35 years old? It's not my money either, but this just doesn't sound like a good idea).
The Celtics are in a bit of a weird spot where they clearly aren't good enough to compete for a title as is, and they need to make a splash or two to capitalize on their championship window. But while acquiring Antetokounmpo would achieve this exact goal for a season or two, it drastically shortens their long-term window, which doesn't make a ton of sense (especially if Brown is involved in the deal, which would be a give-in).
And they definitely shouldn't trade Jaylen Brown for him
You can say whatever you want about Brown (has no left hand, isn't a good playmaker, is selfish, whatever else), but you can't talk about the negatives without talking about the positives. And regardless of what many (too many) in Boston have to say, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP has a ton of positives.
For starters, he is fresh off the best season of his career (28.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1 SPG, 47.7/34.7% shooting splits, was in the MVP conversation) and still isn't even 30 years old. He's also an established good fit in this Celtics system (they don't win a title in 2024 or make it to the finals in 2022 without him) and still has a ton of good years left.
Brown has already established himself as a Celtics great, and there is still a ton of time for him to pad his resume and turn it up to the next level. Trading him would be a massive mistake, and the sooner the team realizes that, the better.
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