Everyone assumes that if the Celtics are in on Giannis Antetokounmpo, that means shipping out Jaylen Brown. It’s a clean fit salary-wise and makes sense, as JB would net the necessary assets to make it worth Milwaukee’s time. But technically, there is another way, and perhaps that path is gaining some steam.
When Bill Simmons reported that the Celtics had made an offer, he didn’t specify what that offer was, exactly. Then, Brian Windhorst went on the record, saying he wouldn’t assume that the Celtics are dangling Brown in a Giannis deal.
Now, it’s coming from a local source, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe went on NBC Sports Boston and said he thinks the Celtics are gauging the market but are looking at avenues to acquire Giannis without sacrificing Brown. Washburn also made it clear he doesn’t believe the Celtics will ultimately land Antetokounmpo.
So, we’ve now got varying degrees of local and national media saying they don’t think the Celtics are going to offer Brown in a trade for Giannis. Which begs the question: is there actually a path to adding Giannis without JB and forming a new Big 3 in Boston?
Celtics could create Giannis-Tatum-Brown superteam
The short answer is yes. The Celtics could make the money work by trading Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser. Surely, the Bucks would want draft picks and some young players as well, but this is fairly workable. It may not sound that appealing on the surface, but that’s arguably just as good as the package being offered by the Heat, which may be the only other competition.
The Bucks would have some baseline competence with those players, and could likely flip them for more picks and prospects as well. Boston could also use a traded player exception to add a player making up to $27 million that the Bucks desire, and flip them instead of (or along with) the above trio.
For the Celtics, this would be an insanely high-risk, high-reward proposition. They’d be gutting their depth, and paying three guys a supermax. They’d have no guards on the roster, and probably be drained of draft capital. In this era of the NBA, this hasn’t exactly proven to be a winning approach, and if things turn ugly, or there’s any bad injury luck, this could lead to a disastrous end to an era.
Celtics could build the next NBA juggernaut
But on the other hand, the Celtics would have the best trio in the league by far. In an era dominated by parity, they’d have a true superteam. The buy-in would be key, but all three players have proven their greatness. If they’re truly willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes to win, then this is a no-brainer. Aprons be damned. Even if this is a two or three-year window, it’s worth the bet on upside.
Brad Stevens and his team have quickly proven they can find value late in the draft and on minimums. If anyone can build a team on a budget around a Big 3, it should be Brad. He built out a roster with guys like Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, Ron Harper Jr., Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and others.
Some may go in the deal, but some will stay. And Stevens can replace the rest. This team would have veteran ring-chasers lining up, and at that point, the Celtics would have to be willing to pay the tax and use every asset at their disposal to set this team up to win. There would be plenty of work to do. But with Tatum, Brown, and Giannis on board, the real work would already be done.
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