Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks feels non-existent at this point. His next chapter is one that Boston Celtics fans have spent the first few weeks of the offseason fully monitoring.
It’s for good reason. If Boston were to feel comfortable parting with Jaylen Brown to land the Greek Freak, then they’d have one of the most enticing potential trade packages in the league.
As much of a no-brainer as it seems to take a swing on Giannis, the Celtics being careful and diligent in their decision making was always going to be key in this. Brown has been an important part of many great teams over the last decade and the grass isn’t always greener.
According to Gery Woelfel, a Wisconsin-based sports reporter, there’s reason to be concerned about Antetokounmpo’s long-term health. Woelful shared that sources he’d spoken to at this week’s NBA Draft combine in Chicago have doubts about Giannis’s knees.
“Antetokounmpo’s physical status was brought up by several officials,” Woelful wrote in a post to X. “Said one; ‘His knees are really, really bad.’
Added another NBA personnel official:
‘We’re not trading for him, but if we did, I’d thoroughly check out his knees. He’s got a lot of wear and tear in them.’”
What to make of the latest Giannis injury intel
Giannis’s health has always been an underlying piece of any hypothetical trade to Boston, at least for me. The two-time MVP will turn 32 in December. His unforgiving physical playstyle doesn’t exactly scream “he’s going to age well” at you, and he hasn’t shown much development as a jump shooter to help that case.
Those things aren’t necessarily short-term concerns, though. Unless these supposed knee issues are as bad as Woelfel’s sources say, adding Antetokounmpo would immediately make the Celtics a better team.
Whenever a lesser-known reporter, at least nationally, reports something like Woelfel did, the public is always skeptical of how accurate the information really is.
For what it’s worth, Giannis was listed on the injury report with four separate knee injuries this past season, with the hyperextension he suffered in March sidelining him through the end of the campaign.
From a reporting standpoint, there’s also no real reason for Woelfel to be overeager to share information about Giannis’s possible knee issues. It’s not like he’s trying to beat a blockbuster trade to the punch and say he had the info first. He’s sharing injury intel, why would he make that up?
His reporting does add some skepticism when imagining a Giannis to Boston deal, but at the end of the day, teams still look at physicals before a deal gets finalized. It’d be beyond shocking if the Celtics missed an obvious red flag in that regard.
If it's that bad, then yes, the Celtics should avoid trading for him and losing Brown for 65 games of street clothes.
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