Boston Celtics: 3 trades that would make Cs instant title favorites

Trade to make Cs title favorites No. 3) Giannis Antetokounmpo Blockbuster

Another year, another Finals-less campaign for the megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo. With the team’s second-round dismissal from the postseason, many are speculating that the reigning two-time league MVP might want a change of scenery this offseason.

Should this happen, every team will likely be inquiring for the man’s services… including, obviously, the Boston Celtics.

It’s a well-known fact that, regardless of which team he ends up on at the start of the 2020-21 season, they’ll find themselves in the upper-echelon of the NBA’s title-odds. Add him to an already menacing group like the Cs, and you’ve got the makings of a pure dynasty should he be paired with rising superstar himself Jayson Tatum and the 2020 All-Star snub, Jaylen Brown.

The 3-team trade above involving the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat, and Boston was actually concocted in a recent article penned by my co-editor Andrew Hughes. In it, he went into depth about why each team would consider doing this deal:

"Why the Boston Celtics do it: The Cs obviously get the best player in the deal in Antetokounmpo, but they also get a legitimate starting point guard in Eric Bledsoe and two veteran bench pieces in Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk. With a big-3 of Antetokounmpo, Tatum, and Brown and a starting lineup rounded out by the defensively sturdy Bledsoe and Daniel Theis, this deal fills in the blanks on the bench next to Robert Williams and Brad Wanamaker/whoever else they fill in as the backup point guard. Why the Miami Heat do it: If Antetokoumpo is off the board after a deal with the Cs (and potential subsequent extension) the Heat could complement their two All-Stars with another 2020 All-Star in Walker and a former All-Star and former Heat target in Gordon Hayward. With their cap tied to their new star quartet, the Heat can fill out their roster with undervalued free agents and undrafted rookies–you know, like they usually do. Why the Milwaukee Bucks do it: If Antetokounmpo isn’t going to come back next year no matter what, and the team as currently constructed isn’t going to win a title with no clear path to improvement, the Bucks need to maximize whatever return they can get. This deal gives them a plug-in All-Defensive First Team guard in Marcus Smart, a potential star in Tyler Herro, an ideal sixth man in Kendrick Nunn, and three first-round picks from Boston. One of those picks could be the Bucks’ own 2020 first-rounder that the Cs acquired in the Aron Baynes trade with Phoenix, and one can certainly be the 2020 lottery pick via Memphis. No matter what, this combination of fringe stardom from Smart, potential stardom in Herro, and draft capital from Boston (with a nifty role-player in Nunn thrown in) is the best return Milwaukee can get in a return."

In my personal opinion, this partnership between Antetokounmpo and the Celtics would reach it’s highest potential should the All-Star big agree to fill in at the pivot for Boston, thus creating the truest example of positionless basketball the league would have to offer.

From Eric Bledsoe and Jaylen Brown to Jayson Tatum and Antetokounmpo, there would be an abundance of options in which the Cs could opt to use as a primary ball-handler in any given possession, keeping the opposing defense on their tows virtually the entire time.

While a large chunk of the team’s depth would be shipped out to make the numbers and, frankly, the deal work, with as much star power as this under one roof it would likely be pretty easy for the Celtics to entice talented free agents looking for a chance to “win now” to sign for the league’s Mid-Level Exception or less.

A big-3 consisting of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown would easily be the best that the league would have to offer and, thus, would immediately catapult them into the top-2 conversation for title favorites heading into the year.