The “will they, won’t they?” love affair between the Boston Celtics and Giannis Antetokounmpo has added its latest “will they?” chapter to the saga. After consistent reporting all week indicating that the Celtics weren’t actively interested in the two-time MVP, and that the Miami Heat are the team to watch, we’ve now gotten multiple “watch out for Boston” reports within the last 14 hours or so.
First, Bill Simmons, who had poured cold water on the rumors days earlier, completely flipped his stance on what he felt the team was doing during his NBA Finals Game 4 reaction podcast in the wee hours of the morning Thursday.
“I thought Boston was out of this,” Simmons told his listeners. “I know Boston was out of this. I was wondering if they were playing possum or not. I think they were playing a little possum. I think they are in on Giannis. I’m not recanting what I said before. I don’t know the reasons for it.”
Simmons was one of the first to infer that Antetokounmpo is interested in joining the Celtics because they give him the best chance at chasing a championship. He doubled down on that here.
“Maybe they felt like Miami’s offer is an offer they could beat. Maybe they want to drive the price of Miami’s offer up and don’t really have interest in him. Giannis is pushing for Miami or Boston. Those are the two locations and really wants to end up in Boston because he would have the best chance to win a title. Boston is not ruling out the idea is my intel. In general, I’m prepared for anything with Boston now.”
If there’s one thing we know about the Celtics, it’s that they keep things close to their chest. It’s extremely rare for any prospective move to leak before it actually happens. Simmons isn’t a typical newsbreaker, nor does he pretend to be, but it’s tough to imagine that he’s just speaking blindly on the topic.
He is probably hearing things. How substantial those things are is another story.
The reporting from NBA insider Jake Fischer remained somewhat consistent with what we’d heard thus far -- with some added hints of Celtics mystique sprinkled in.
“Earlier in the week, league sources with knowledge of the situation maintained that Boston had not yet seriously engaged Milwaukee on an Antetokounmpo trade … but they also declined to rule out the possibility of the Celtics eventually entering the fray,” Fischer wrote in Thursday’s Steinline newsletter.
Fischer added that the Celtics are viewed leaguewide to have the best assets to persuade Milwaukee in their favor.
“Rival teams, furthermore, continue to point to Boston's various assets as illustrating its ability to become a factor here. They also note that Antetokounmpo shares a skills coach with Jayson Tatum (Drew Hanlen) and is believed to have a level of interest in landing with the Celtics on top of his well-chronicled affinity for Miami.”
It seems clear that Giannis wants to play in Boston, we'll find out if they want him soon
Across both what Simmons and Fischer had to say, Giannis’s rumored interest in Boston remains consistent. It’s been consistent over the past month. If there’s anything to truly take from the piles of rumors, it’s that he’d welcome a move to North Station, and would probably sign an extension to stick around for a bit, which enables the Cs to feel more comfortable pushing their chips to the center of the table.
Whatever the outcome of the Gianis saga will be, the verdict is coming soon. Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslem publicly made this month’s NBA Draft somewhat of a deadline for the departure of the 2021 NBA Finals MVP.
“I just think before the draft is a natural time,” Haslam said at Taylor Jenkins’ introductory press conference, via the Bucks’ YouTube channel. “Because if Giannis does play somewhere else, we’ve got to have a lot of assets. That’s Jon’s [Horst, Bucks GM] job to do. And if he’s here, then you build the team differently.”
Well, as I write this, the draft is 12 days away. Soon enough, the rumors will be proven true or false, and we’ll all know where the Greek Freak will be playing his basketball when the fall rolls around. For now, soak it all in, put the tinfoil hat on, fire up the trade machine, whatever tickles your fancy -- go for it.
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