So it looks like Giannis Antetokounmpo might join the Boston Celtics after all. And it could happen as soon as Monday (it might even be before I get this article out. I can't travel to the future!)
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Milwaukee Bucks star is expected to get traded before the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday, and he will likely join the Celtics or the Miami Heat.
"Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to be traded before the start of the NBA draft Tuesday, with the Celtics and Heat emerging as finalists to land the Bucks superstar, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania."
"The Bucks are not expected to include a third team in an Antetokounmpo trade, according to sources, and are focused solely on negotiating with the Celtics and Heat."
Additionally, Charania reported that Boston's trade package would be centered around Jaylen Brown, which, regardless of where you stand on the Celtics possibly making this trade, is a bittersweet development.
Trading Jaylen Brown for Giannis would be a win-lose for the Celtics
Antetokounmpo is better than Brown, would be the best player the Celtics can possibly pair with a prime Jayson Tatum, and he immediately raises the team's short-term ceiling.
But at the same time, Brown is two years younger than "the Greek Freak," is a homegrown talent and the longest-tenured Celtic, and just won finals MVP two years ago. Without Brown, the Celtics don't make it to the finals in 2022 or win it all in 2024.
As it stands, it seems like trading the Georgia native for Antetokounmpo could be a fantastic move for the short term, but it has a serious chance to backfire in three years or so (Antetokounmpo has a growing injury problem, relies too much on his athleticism and is almost 32 years old, can't shoot, and is eligible for a four-year, $275 million in October).
Assuming this trade actually does come to fruition, it's a high-risk, high-reward move for the Celtics. But either way, it's going to be tough to see Brown go. He's been with the team for a decade and constantly silenced his doubters (i.e., the fans who booed him on draft night, the critics who said he didn't deserve any of his contract extensions, and everybody who memed him to death after the 2023 conference finals for "not having a left hand).
Does trading the five-time All-Star for Antetokounmpo make the Celtics better? Probably. But Brown is a franchise legend no matter how you look at it. And if we have already seen him play his final game for Boston (and his final game alongside Tatum), then the end of an era is upon us... and that's unfortunate.
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