Celtics Run Giannis Antetokounmpo Out Of East? Greek Freak Gives Chance To Possibility

Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a left calf strain and watched the Boston Celtics trot their way to an NBA championship, weeks after watching the Milwaukee Bucks suffer a first-round playoff elimination at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.

Antetokounmpo, who pressured Milwaukee’s front office into acquiring eight-time All-Star Damian Lillard, didn’t turn the “Greek Freak” pairing with “Dame Time” into a successful debut run. The Bucks were atrocious defensively, fired then-head coach Adrian Griffin after 43 games and allowed Jrue Holiday — their former defensive captain — to pitch in heavily into Boston’s title win; and not before the Celtics, thrilled with Holiday, signed him to a four-year, $135 million extension. It wasn’t an astronomical backfiring of a season in Milwaukee, but one that’s certainly got Antetokounmpo thinking.

“Do you have it in the back of your mind, like, ‘(What) if this year doesn’t go well?’ Yeah, if we don’t win a championship, I might get traded,” Antetokounmpo said, per Sam Amick of The Athletic. “Yeah, this is the job we live. This is the world we’re living in. It’s everybody.”

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This doesn’t mark the first instance in which Antetokounmpo has made comments hinting at a departure from Milwaukee. Weeks before the Bucks agreed to a three-year, $186 million extension — last October — the 29-year-old, Antetokounmpo threatened to leave in search of a championship opportunity elsewhere. Those comments presumably triggered a proactive approach once Lillard hit the market, and likely rolled out the carpet for Doc Rivers to ditch his ESPN commentary gig — weeks in — to return to the sidelines.

Milwaukee didn’t mesh, finished third in the Eastern Conference, and is now back for another run at chasing down the Celtics, it seems as though Boston can crush Antetokounmpo’s (seemingly crumbling) faith in the Bucks.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are returning with their heads held high as the reigning champions, leading a nearly untouched roster for their first shot at a repeat. Holiday is back, Derrick White is back, Kristaps Porzingis is recovering from offseason surgery and will be back, plus head coach Joe Mazzulla is keeping the culture in check. If it’s not killer whales, Boston Red Sox film, martial arts analogies or embracing adversity, Mazzulla’s open-mindedness has drawn an attentive Celtics locker room eager to bring home another Larry O’Brien Trophy as if Boston hadn’t raised Banner 18 at all.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, while not a direct enemy until further notice, could falter again in the collision of everything Boston is aiming to preserve. The Celtics have camaraderie, the ability to co-exist among five All-Star caliber talents in one lineup, and aren’t concerned with personal accolades. Milwaukee is working a step behind. Antetokounmpo and Lillard had their moments but didn’t establish themselves as one of the league’s most threatening duos, played catch-up in repairing a severely damaged defensive identity and aren’t Boston’s only looming rival.

The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers got (very) busy in the offseason while the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, too, are poised for contention following their respective stepping-stone runs last season. The opportunity to surge in the conference is up for the taking, therefore, the Bucks are working against a more leveled playing field as competitors chase the inherent target placed on Boston’s back.

Milwaukee will play Boston three times this upcoming regular season, giving the Celtics three chances to send Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Rivers a rude reminder of why Boston hosted a duck boat parade in June.

Antetokounmpo, of course, can’t stomach the thought of watching that image come to life for the second straight time — at least not in a Bucks uniform it seems.