There has been so much hoopla about whether the Boston Celtics plan to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo and/or trade Jaylen Brown. Occam's Razor would suggest that these two hypothetical scenarios would be connected to each other. It's definitely possible, but perhaps not directly.
It's also worth noting that the Celtics are looking into acquiring Trey Murphy III. Could there be a reality where Boston got both Giannis and Murphy? It's been brought up before, and it's worth looking into. There is a scenario where Boston could make that work in a blockbuster trade, but they would have to make seismic changes to the roster.
In a perfect world for the Celtics, they would get Giannis and Murphy while giving up as little as possible, but that doesn't exist because the Celtics aren't the Lakers. With that in mind, here's the blockbuster that would get both of Boston's targets in Celtics green.
The following deal would occur between the Celtics, Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Atlanta Hawks
Celtics get: Antetokounmpo, Murphy, Herbert Jones
Pelicans get: Brown, Sam Hauser
Hawks get: Derrick White, Neemias Queta
Bucks get: Jordan Poole (expiring contract), Zaccharie Risacher, Buddy Hield, No. 8 pick (via Hawks), No. 27 pick (via Celtics), their 2027 pick would be sent back to them, 2029 Pelicans' unprotected pick
Yup, this is a mega deal that doesn't immediately favor the Celtics, where there would definitely be questions for all teams involved with what they would give up and what they would be getting in return. Hence, this warrants a deep dive as to why each and every team would talk themselves into a deal like this.
Why the Bucks do it
If Antetokounmpo didn't have the label of flight risk to his name, Milwaukee would get so much more out of a trade involving him. Alas, because they waited too long to resolve this situation (to be fair, Antetokounmpo himself deserves a good share of the blame), this may be the best they can settle for because it gives them the best shot at what they want from a Giannis trade: a clean slate.
Part of why no deal has been agreed to as of now is because Miami's offer for Giannis stinks to high heaven. Part of that is because while the Heat would trade them all of their picks, Milwaukee might not be too high on getting the picks from the team they sent a top-five player in the NBA to because they likely won't have much worth if all goes right in Miami.
That's why a trade like this is more palatable because it gets them another top-10 pick in a loaded draft class (which they reportedly want) while also allowing them to tank next season with no repercussions. They also get cap flexibility in Poole, while getting a low-risk, high-reward flyer in Risacher who may thrive in an environment with no expectations.
Why the Hawks do it
Admittingly, if there was one team who would probably say no to this, it would be Atlanta. There may be some apprehension to acquiring White and Queta, neither of whom are technically an All-Star, for the No. 8 pick. At the same time, they really round out the edges for the Hawks.
White may not be an All-Star, but has largely been heralded as one of the most impactful players in the league. He may be coming off a down season as a shooter, but White is still one of the most active defenders in the NBA that changes so much on that side of the floor.
In Atlanta, they likely wouldn't ask him to score, as they have plenty of scorers on their team (moreso if they re-sign CJ McCollum), so he could go back to his bread and butter as one of the league's best 3&D players.
Queta would be sweetener to the deal. Not only is he on a team-friendly deal, but what heavily factored into Atlanta's downfall in the playoffs was their lack of big man depth. Oneka Okongwu is a solid player, but he alone is not enough. After Queta's breakout season, he'd be the perfect backup in Atlanta because he's a starting-quality center.
Why the Pelicans do it
While Murphy's name has been circulating the rumor mill again, a wise man would suggest that the Pelicans would trade him only for an upgrade. Brown, who's coming off an All-NBA second team campaign by putting up career-highs across the board, fits the bill as an undisputed upgrade.
The Pelicans are scrambling at the moment because even in a season where they weren't trying to tank, they still wound up among the bottom 10 teams in the league. Even worse, they're not getting a draft pick for their troubles.
Brown would be their most high-profile addition since DeMarcus Cousins, but he would bring hope to a franchise that doesn't have a lot. He is an upgrade over Murphy and would definitely be worth the cost of Herbert Jones as well.
Plus, even with Hauser, who gives them elite three-point shooting, they save a good amount of money in a deal like this. New Orleans is perhaps the one team most desperate to give themselves relevance in the NBA. Not only would they get it, but Brown would get his own team to lead from this.
Why the Celtics do it
This is probably what you've all been waiting for. Why would Boston do this? Well, they get an upgrade in Antetokounmpo while they also get one of the league's more underrated scorers in Murphy, and to top it all off, they get one of the league's premier 3&D players who is also on one of the league's most ream-friendly deals.
Antetokounmpo's impact is self-explanatory, while Murphy and Jones both get the chance to show their stuff for a contender. Though as exciting as this construction would be, it would lead to some questions.
After a deal like this, their starting five would be Antetokounmpo, Murphy, Jones, Jayson Tatum, and Payton Pritchard. An unorthodox lineup, but a supremely talented one at that. It also strips them down to one guard on the roster with Pritchard, but luckily, Boston has ways of shoring themselves up so it doesn't have to be that way.
They have the $15.1 million non-taxpayers MLE, the $27.7 million Anfernee Simons TPE, the $8.2 milkion Georges Niang TPE, and the possibility of a Nikola Vucevic sign-and-trade to address all of that.
Yes, this deal looks drastic for Boston, but Brad Stevens has never been afraid to shake things up. When coming off two consecutive playoff humiliations (and arguably three in the last four years), that can convince him that it's time to go all in.
The only times Boston has had shakeups to this degree was 2007 (the Big 3 formation) and 2017 (Tatum, Kyrie Irving, and Gordon Hayward, among others), but it was clear that it was worth it in the end. If the Celtics want Banner 19, this is how they do it.
Add us as a preferred source on Google