The Boston Celtics may have their reasons if they don't want Giannis Antetokounmpo, but among the reasons why they should go after him to prevent him from joining the Miami Heat, the one team that has given the Jays more trouble than anyone. If Boston pursues Giannis, they can do something Miami can't: take Myles Turner in the deal.
Yes, we've talked about this a few times already. I'll try my best not to regurgitate what has already been said.
Instead, we'll focus more on why the Heat can't do that. If the Heat are serious about Antetokounmpo, that likely means they want to pair him with their best player on the roster, Bam Adebayo. Those two would be quite a dynamic duo, but the Bucks may also require them to take Turner with Giannis.
If and when an Antetokounmpo trade happens, the Bucks simply want to start over, which means if the two-time MVP is on the outs, they probably want Turner off their books too. It makes sense why that is, but it wouldn't be so easy for the Heat to take him on.
Turner is coming off a pretty disastrous stint in Milwaukee, which makes him somewhat of an albatross contract. If the Heat acquire him, that not only becomes their problem, but Turner would also be superfluous on the roster with Antetokounmpo and Adebayo in their frontcourt.
Sure, they would probably try to re-route him elsewhere (or try to fit him into their rotation), but that will cost them even more. They may not care because it's Antetokounmpo, but scenarios like this show it won't be that simple to acquire him.
This wouldn't be a problem for Boston
The Celtics are under the luxury tax. They can trade Jaylen Brown for Antetokounmpo straight up, and then either absorb Turner with the Ant Simons TPE (they would have to trade Sam Hauser to make that work) or potentially work out a sign-and-trade that could get Turner on the team potentially involving Hauser and Nikola Vucevic.
Yes, Turner is overpaid for what he does, but he does help a need for the Celtics. Having him, Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum would still give Boston respectability while not causing much of a roster crunch. It would be a much more seamless fit compared to what Miami would have to do.
He still brings a fair amount to the table even if his contract pays him more for the idea of what he is than what he can actually bring. Overpaid or not, he was still the starting center on a team went to Game 7 of the NBA Finals a year ago, which counts for something.
This may all be moot in the end because it sounds like Boston's not really all-in on Antetokounmpo, but if they don't want him on Miami, they can absolutely use this to their advantage.
Add us as a preferred source on Google