The rumors surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Boston Celtics have only picked up more steam over the last few days. There's no telling how this situation will shake out once and for all. However, it's very possible this could go in the exact same direction as what got Jrue Holiday to the Celtics: Jaylen Brown getting traded to another team after the Giannis deal goes through.
Matt Moore harped on this, comparing it to when the Milwaukee Bucks traded Holiday to Portland for Damian Lillard, who then traded Holiday to Boston in a separate deal.
.@highkin pointed this out to me and it's crystal clear, it's exactly like the Dame deal where Portland traded for Jrue and then flipped him to Boston. It's a multi-team deal but done in parts. You agree on the Boston side and then reshop Brown to Portland or Atlanta https://t.co/2bnYj0fIQi
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) June 22, 2026
To this day, many laugh at the Bucks not thinking about the fact that Holiday being rerouted to Boston ahead of time hurt them in the end, but it's very possible that Portland would only have agreed to the deal if they had full control of where they would send Holiday. It was a brilliant move on Portland's part because it got them more assets.
Don't be surprised if, because they were indirect victims of this strategy, the Bucks may try the same thing. Get Brown and assets for the Greek Freak, then dangle him for more assets. That's how it works with a rebuild, especially when trading an all-time player like Antetokounmpo.
Could there be a team Boston wouldn't want Milwaukee to send Brown to?
If Brown gets traded for Giannis, the Celtics would likely prefer Brown be sent out West so he wouldn't become their problem, but it's also possible that the Bucks may keep him in the East because there is a team with the assets to grab Milwaukee's attention who would be a threat to the Celtics: the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks are already an up-and-coming team in the East who could get even scarier with CJ McCollum coming back. What makes them even scarier is that they have the No. 8 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and they have an asset owed to them from the Bucks.
It would make a lot of sense if they try to get Brown should there be a direct deal. Brown's value has never been higher, he is from Atlanta, and the Bucks are scrounging for any assets they can get their hands on, including their own.
This would become a problem, but it may be worth it because it's contingencies like those that come with trading for an all-timer like Antetokounmpo. You live with Brown playing for a competitor as long as it makes you better.
Trading for Antetokounmpo is still an easy decision to make, even if it would come at the cost of seeing Brown play for one of the Celtics' biggest competitors.
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