The Boston Celtics are now the front-runners to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster trade from the Milwaukee Bucks. A deal built around Jaylen Brown is reportedly expected to be completed before the NBA Draft, fundamentally altering the league’s power balance.
The chase for Giannis is hitting its breaking point, and Boston is pushing its chips to the middle of the table. According to veteran insider Chris Haynes, the Celtics have seized control of the trade talks.
“From what I am hearing, it sounds like the Boston Celtics are the front-runners to land Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Haynes reported. “The expectation, the belief, is that a deal will be done by the draft. The owner of the Milwaukee Bucks said this a couple months ago, they said they were looking to do so, and I would say starting a couple of weeks ago, teams were starting to hear some intel about how the Bucks might even take this past the draft and go on to free agency.”
That timeline has accelerated dramatically. The Bucks are done waiting.
Haynes continued, “But the last 48 hours, from what I hear, from all accounts, the Milwaukee Bucks are ready to make a move. I can expect something to be done by the end of today or if not today, then most definitely on the day of the draft. Right now, I am hearing the Boston Celtics, not the Miami Heat, are the favorites to land him in a trade.”
The reported package starts with Jaylen Brown. Milwaukee is also asking for young assets like last year’s first-rounder Hugo Gonzalez and this year’s No. 27 pick. For Boston, adding a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber solves a host of issues that plagued them last season. One NBA executive noted that getting Giannis is a perfect, if costly, solution.
“If you’re Stevens, ideally, you are keeping Brown and you are getting a starting-quality big man who can defend and pass, and you are getting a real, tough, defensive wing, and maybe another ballhandler because you don’t want to leave that all on (Derrick) White and (Payton) Pritchard. But you’ve got one pick in the 20s this year and you want to stay below the tax. So you can maybe do one of those things but not all,” the exec explained. “But you get Giannis, and you know, you’ve got your ballhandler, you’ve got a big guy, you’ve got a guy who can defend outside and inside. It is an all-encompassing move, it just makes you better in so many areas.”
This isn’t a minor tweak. It’s a franchise-altering swing. Giving up Brown and depth pieces is a steep price, but pairing a two-time MVP with Jayson Tatum would instantly give Boston one of the most fearsome duos in the entire league. The clock is ticking.
