The Boston Celtics are not trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, not when Jayson Tatum plays the same position. That does not mean they have to sit out the Antetokounmpo trade market, however. Such a blockbuster deal could shake lose a player for the Celtics to target -- such as defensive icon Draymond Green.
Celtics fans certainly know the name of Draymond Green. Despite being in opposite conferences, the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics have had a number of memorable clashes over the years. With fiery, talkative defenders like Draymond and Marcus Smart involved in many of them, sparks did fly. Things reached a fever pitch when the two teams battled for the 2022 Championship -- and Green and the Warriors prevailed.
Why is Green's name coming up in a conversation about Giannis Antetokounmpo? While Green will one day get a statue outside of Chase Center in San Francisco, he is also not on the level of Antetokounmpo. And with recent reporting indicating that an Antetokounmpo trade could be on the horizon, every team is preparing their offer to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Warriors have long been said to covet pairing Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry, and with Curry still playing at an All-NBA level, the window remains open if Giannis does indeed hit the trade market. Yet trading for a superstar in his prime requires a lot of matching salary, and the Warriors are limited by a second apron hard cap -- they cannot take back more salary than they send out.
There are essentially two paths available to them: trade Jimmy Butler, their acquisition last year who is off to a great start; or trade the combination of Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga. That second path is painful from a dynasty standpoint given everything that Green has accomplished for the franchise, but it may make the most basketball sense to try and maximize a run at another championship.
Yet the Bucks trading Antetokounmpo signals a roster reset or perhaps even a full teardown. The Bucks may be interested in giving the ball to Kuminga and seeing if he can take that step forward; adding Draymond Green makes no sense at all. That leaves him open for a redirect.
The Celtics could trade for Draymond Green
The Celtics have been in this situation before. Two years ago, the Milwaukee Bucks were the team trading for the star, adding Damian Lillard just prior to the season. In that scenario, the Portland Trail Blazers took back Jrue Holiday as matching salary and shopped him around to contenders. The Celtics made the trade, added Holiday to their starting lineup, and promptly won a title.
Now they can do the same thing but with Draymond Green -- an idea first pitched by Sam Quinn of the Third Apron podcast. If the Bucks were to agree to this trade with the Warriors, both sides would be motivated to identify a third team from the jump, rather than have Green land on the Bucks and be subject to limitations on flipping him in another trade during the season. Enter the Celtics.
Anfernee Simons has not factored for the Celtics in the way that they likely hoped he would, to increase his value and showcase him for a trade. Even so, he remains a talented young guard worth taking a shot on for Milwaukee -- not as a target, but as reasonable matching salary. If the Celtics were to attach a future first-round pick to Simons, who makes $2 million more than Green, that could very well get the deal done for the Bucks.
The Celtics would add Draymond Green to this year's team, giving them a starting power forward and closing center to slide next to Jaylen Brown. The defensive combination of Green, Brown and Derrick White would be downright vicious. Green is stout to defend i the post, savvy to execute a switching scheme, and the perfect mentor to young defenders like Josh Minott and Jordan Walsh to help them level up.
Green can slide into a bench role next year behind Tatum and Brown but still play high-leverage minutes; his defensive IQ is the best of his generation, so his impact should remain for a few more seasons on that end even as he ages. A low-cost swing on a defensive icon makes a lot of sense if the Celtics are given the opportunity.
Draymond Green to the Celtics. That's something no one saw coming.