The Bucks are looking to move franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft and the Celtics seem to be a frontrunner in the sweepstakes for the former 2x MVP and DPOY. While fans have their concerns in trading for the 2021 champion, they should look further into the story around the Greek Freak. Let’s dive into the Giannis storyline that really needs to die down so we can focus on the rest of the league.
Concerns – Injury severity, fit questions
The main talking point behind the anti-Giannis crowd is his complicated injury history that does not lend itself well to going all in on a championship. He’s 31 coming off a couple of lower body injuries that kept him out of a majority of this season. However, the last two seasons have arguably been more productive than his MVP seasons in 2019 and 2020. Also, the Bucks are trapped in a scandal concerning not letting Giannis play when he became healthy. This led to him missing more games, thus inflating the injury concern (which seems counterintuitive to a front office trying to trade him, but who knows).
Giannis has never played less than 60 games prior to this season which leads me to believe this is an outlier case. Celtics fans should be willing to take the risk to take on a top 5 player in the league when healthy.
Bye bye, Jaylen Brown
As for fit worries, I am assuming a Jaylen Brown trade in the case of acquiring Antetokounmpo. I’ve seen a package surrounding Derrick White who just won a 1st Team All Defense, but coming off the season he had seems unrealistic. Even if it was White, Pritchard, Hauser, and a young wing (take your choice) as well as 3-4 FRPs Milwaukee hangs up. There’s nothing there that moves the needle substantially by itself, no raw young talent that can develop in the oncoming years of misery in the Cream City.
Giannis demands a help defender at all times as he is prolific around the rim and with space. The experiment with Damian Lillard infamously failed, but having a ball dominant forward in Tatum will quell the issues spurred by the former duo. Tatum offers increased defensive and rebounding capabilities and having two point-forwards seem versatile at a level I have not seen elsewhere in the NBA. Combine that with shooters around the perimeter and Queta taking another step to controlling the paint on offense and you really can’t stop the interior attack of the Cs. Defensively; the perimeter would be secured, and the transition attack of the forwards would be lethal. It’s a duo that on paper seems redundant but in reality, will play out wonderfully.
Trade Scenarios
I’m going to outline two packages (one directly with Milwaukee and another rerouting JB to Atlanta, a speculated homecoming for the Georgia native).
Boston Receives: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Receives: Jaylen Brown, 2027 1st Rd pick
This simple package is all that the Celtics should have to give up. JB’s value is at an all-time high and one pick to kickstart the rebuild in Milwaukee. Two is too many.
Boston Receives: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Atlanta Receives: Jaylen Brown
Milwaukee Receives: Jonathan Kuminga, Corey Kispert, Zacharie Risacher, Luka Garza, 3 FRPs
This gives Milwaukee some shots in the dark in Kuminga and Risacher but also boosts the rebuild along with more picks. They do not control their own which makes it quite difficult, and they need to acquire some from other places.
Is it going to happen?
I hope so. I’m concerned with Jaylen’s recent behavior and although I’m all here for athletes speaking their minds, it reflects poorly on his outlook on the Celtics as an organization. Giannis has stated he likes the team here and wants to stay in the East on a competitor. If I’m him, I’d start looking for homes in the Seaport.
