According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Giannis Antetokounmpo and his agent are beginning the process of discussing his future with the Milwaukee Bucks—a process that could potentially lead to him being traded. If that becomes the reality, the Boston Celtics could be uniquely positioned to make a swing for the superstar, though it would be a painful deal to make.
Adding Antetokounmpo to the roster to play alongside Jayson Tatum moving into the future would create one of the best duos in the league. Unfortunately, a tough question would have to be asked: Who would Boston have to give up in order to bring Antetokounmpo on board?
That’s where things could get tricky.
How would the Celtics trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo?
The Celtics have control of (almost) all of their draft picks moving forward, meaning they could pool them all together in an attempt to land the Greek Freak to pair with Tatum.
Unfortunately, in order to match Antetokounmpo’s salary, the Celtics would have to trade one of Jaylen Brown or Derrick White. Considering how much those two guys have meant to the franchise (primarily Brown), that would be a painful move to make.
That said, adding a guy like Antetokounmpo—a top-five player in the NBA and a top-75 player of all-time—is an opportunity that doesn’t come around every day.
Trading Brown and a couple of minimum contracts would get the Celtics where they need to be in terms of matching the financials, and perhaps they would have to trade him in order to match what the Bucks want back in a deal.
But from Boston’s perspective, the ideal trade package would probably be White and Anfernee Simons. Those two contracts would make the money work. However, Milwaukee would undoubtedly want more assets back in a deal.
They would probably strip the Celtics of most of, if not all of, their picks moving forward, and perhaps even some young assets. Maybe that’s Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, or a combination of the bunch. Maybe they’d even want Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser.
Keeping Brown would be more ideal for this season, but having a role player like White could be better moving forward. But in terms of pure talent, a core of Tatum, Antetokounmpo, and Brown would be insane.
But in the wake of whatever deal the Celtics could make, they would be left with a core of Tatum, Antetokounmpo, and a group of role players.
That has a chance to be a very good basketball team, especially with how many of Boston’s role players have broken out as competitive players this season.
For example: If the Celtics traded White, Simons, Gonzalez, Walsh, and all their picks, they would be left with the following core:
Tatum, Antetokounmpo, Brown, Pritchard, Hauser, Neemias Queta, Scheierman, and Josh Minott.
Regardless, with a ton of picks and both Brown and White as potential trade bait, the Celtics could put together a pretty good offer for Milwaukee.