The Jaylen Brown trade overshadowed what may have been the Boston Celtics' actual biggest failure of the offseason: not getting Giannis Antetokounmpo. Granted, I personally believe Milwaukee was never that serious about sending the Greek Freak to Boston and was only using them as leverage to get the best offer possible from Miami.
And part of why they did that could be explained by what Antetokounmpo told reporters the other day.
"I want to leave my mark. I want to know when this chapter is over, if I’m only here for a year, two or whatever it’s going to be I want to leave my mark."
Huh.
Now, for all we know, Giannis will spend the rest of his career down in South Beach, but, from the horse's mouth, it doesn't sound like that's a certainty. Miami getting their hands on Antetokounmpo is a big deal for them, no questions asked. But there are still questions about that roster.
For as undeniably good as the pairing of Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo will be, the rest of Miami's roster has questions. More on the offensive side than the defensive side. Defensively, they should be among the best of the best. Offensively, they lost their two best three-level scorers, which could be a problem when the going gets tough: Tyler Herro and Norman Powell.
Obviously, we're thinking too far down the line, but this could be a big problem that the Heat might not be able to resolve.
If Giannis doesn't stay, Boston should pounce
I mean, duh.
However, Antetokounmpo saying things like this does put a timer on how long he'll be with the Heat. They only have a certain amount of time to prove that they are a contender in the East. They very well could be, but it's not like the runway is going to just open up to them.
Besides the Celtics, the Heat will have to go through New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, and Indiana, among others, to get to the top and it is not going to be easy. Antetokounmpo is still a trump card, but as we've seen from his last few years with Milwaukee, he can only do so much.
In Boston, he would be paired with one of the NBA's best players in Jayson Tatum, who would be able to take a good amount of the pressure off Antetokounmpo as he continues to age (again, I don't think the Bucks wanted those two to join forces, or at least be responsible for it), one of the NBA's best coaches in Joe Mazzulla, and a system that has gotten the best out of the least likely of players.
It doesn't sound like Antetokounmpo is necessarily all in on Miami long-term unless they prove that they are capable of winning a title with the squad they have. If they prove that they are not the powerhouse they hope to be, that opens the door for Boston to snag the two-time MVP because, well, it's Giannis freaking Antetokounmpo.
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