Offseason rumors wasted no time coming for the Boston Celtics following their Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. On Monday morning, NBA Insider Marc Stein joined SiriusXM’s Deals and Dunks radio show and labeled the Celtics as a “team to keep an eye on” in the expected trade sweepstakes for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With the way things ended this season, it’s hard not to dream big in terms of offseason targets. Why not go and get a two-time MVP, right?
Well, it’s not necessarily a thing that the Celtics shouldn’t do, but trading for Antetokounmpo is at least something that they should be a bit weary of.
He’ll be turning 32 this December and isn’t getting any younger. Now, the early 30s don’t always spell significant regression, especially for elite players like Giannis -- Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry are playing at a high level at a much older age.
It’s all dependent on each individual playstyle, though.
Giannis's lack of a jump shot could hurt him as he ages
Think of those three. Each of them had or added a reliable three-point shot to their game in order to age gracefully. As of now, that’s simply not been the case for the Greek Freak. In fact, as he’s aged, he’s taken fewer threes than ever.
Antetokounmpo has only attempted 2.1 threes per game, converting at just 28.1%, since the 2021-22 season. Instead, he’s leaned into a more physical playstyle. Whenever Father Time decides to start taking some of those athletic gifts away, the 12-year veteran is going to have to find other ways to be effective.
Thus far, it hasn’t really kept him from playing at a high level. Giannis had been named to the All-NBA First Team in each of the seven seasons leading up to this past campaign. Not only does the recognition indicate that he made an impact, but also speaks to how largely durable the former Finals MVP has been to this point.
Health a concern with Giannis
This season was a bit different, though. Antetokounmpo appeared in just 36 games as the Bucks missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Even so, his absences should be taken with a grain of salt, as the team likely played a role in holding him out of games in case a potential trade partner offered a favorable deal.
Milwaukee can’t maximize their return in a trade, in-season or not, if Giannis isn’t healthy.
There’s no guarantee that whichever team, Boston included, that trades for him, will get great injury luck. The writing has somewhat been on the wall as he’s missed time in two of Milwaukee’s last three playoff appearances. It’s great that Antetokounmpo has managed to stay healthy for the regular season, but it doesn’t matter if he’s unreliable in the spring.
The likelihood of his body breaking down feels pretty high considering how frequently he takes contact or hits the floor when barrelling to the basket for a physical finish.
Then, of course, there’s the price. Any trade landing Antetokounmpo in Boston would almost certainly have to include Jaylen Brown, who just had the best season of his career. Plus, the Cs would probably have to dig into their draft chest and cough up some first-round picks to get a deal done.
Giannis trade would be all-in move for Celtics
It’d be brutal if the Celtics gutted their assets and/or depth to go all-in on Giannis, just for him to be on the bench in street clothes come playoff time.
This isn’t all to say that there’s no reason for the Cs to pursue him, especially if the price is right. There just has to be some consideration into how long a roster featuring Giannis, who is due for another max contract extension after next season, can sustain success.
If Boston wants to commit to the idea of short-term success, then so be it.
Brad Stevens, since he took over as president of basketball operations ahead of the 2021-22 season, has leaned towards building a sustainable competitor.
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