Celtics Could Get Involved In Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade
Giannis on the move?
Wednesday brought a “Shams Bomb” in the NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks has begun considering a forced departure from the Bucks (per ESPN’s Shams Charania).
It was only a matter of time before Giannis wanted out, and we appear to be arriving at that destiny. The question now becomes, where will Giannis land, and when will he be moved?
MassLive’s Brian Robb did some worthy analysis in that regard on Wednesday, particularly pointing to how this impacts the Boston Celtics.
As pointed out by Robb, the Celtics themselves aren’t a suitable landing spot for Giannis because of their prime-aged — rather than young — stars and their status outside the lottery (rendering their near-future picks not too valuable).
Robb also acknowledged that a Jaylen Brown-centric package for Giannis just doesn’t make sense for anyone.
That doesn’t mean the Celts won’t be involved in a Giannis deal, though, especially as it will probably require multiple teams for the Bucks to pull off.
“(Boston could) get involved in the deal in other ways,” Robb wrote. “Any deal involving a star with a massive salary like Antetokounmpo will likely involve several teams. Boston could attempt to achieve one of their potential trade season goals (finding a big man, potentially dodging luxury tax to enable more spending for next season) in the deal itself or as a secondary deal as part of the fallout. Anfernee Simons and Sam Hauser would be the names to keep an eye on in those scenarios.”
Teams that have been linked to Giannis in a potential trade include the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs.
