Latest Celtics-Giannis trade buzz just blurred line between fantasy and reality

When Brian Windhorst of ESPN mentioned the Boston Celtics in the same breath as a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, it blurred the lines between fantasy and reality.

In the world of reality, Windhorst’s words are mere speculation. He speculated that Antetokounmpo should want to stay in the Eastern Conference, as the West is set to be a bloodbath next season. Jumping ship to a team in the opposite conference would make contending for a championship much, much harder.

Where does reality end and fantasy start with a Celtics-Giannis Antetokounmpo trade?

At no point in his statement on ESPN’s Get Up did he explicitly state that the Celtics have interest in Antetokounmpo. And in reality, he probably has no idea if they are interested or not. The Celtics keep their plans close to their chests. Almost nothing gets out to even the biggest insiders.

"The move for Giannis, if he has the control, is to go to the East,” Windhorst said on Thursday. "I think you have to look at the teams that could make a trade for Giannis that the Bucks would accept and, on the other side of the trade, would have a contending team. So, Boston would be on that list."

All Windhorst pointed out is that the Celtics have the means to make a trade for Antetokounmpo while still being able to field a quality roster after the deal gets done. That’s what any team that makes a trade for the Greek Freak needs to ensure before they go dealing with the devil (in this case, the Milwaukee Bucks).

But while all of those truths exist in reality, the fantasy world lives on.

In the fantasy world, a Celtics trade for Antetokounmpo makes some sense. They have one of the best assets in the league in Jaylen Brown, and a whole cupboard of draft picks to entice the Bucks into a deal.

Milwaukee doesn’t have its own picks, so thanking shouldn’t be at the top of its mind. Adding a guy like Brown would help them accomplish that goal.

And even if the Celtics tell the Bucks that Brown is off the table, an offer could still get interesting. Throw in the likes of Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, or Sam Hauser, and some sort of framework could begin to take shape.

Then, not only would the Celtics have Antetokounmpo next season to help them compete while Jayson Tatum is out, but once Tatum returns, they’ll have arguably the best duo in basketball leading the way.

Reality says this trade will never happen, and Windhorst’s comments are mere speculation and thought-out reasoning. Fantasy says… well, who’s to say?