Amid all the uncertainty and buzz surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future, the Heat and the Celtics remain the frontrunners to potentially land the Greek superstar.
Ever since the Bucks began listening to offers, the Heat have been in the race to land Antetokounmpo, going back to the February trade deadline. Moreover, they are widely considered the favorites to land Antetokounmpo due to the depth of the trade package they are reportedly offering.
While speculations swirl around the rumor mill on the Heat’s rising chances to succeed in their pursuit, the Celtics, who have recently entered this race for Antetokounmpo, have allegedly not lost hope, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
“League sources say that the Heat remain in full-speed pursuit of Antetokounmpo, but also indicate that the Boston Celtics have not yet abandoned hope of completing a trade for The Greek Freak. They are the two teams, sources say, that have engaged in the most advanced trade talks to date with the Bucks,” wrote Stein in his latest Substack report.
“A complete picture there has been harder to pinpoint, but 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown is the widely presumed centerpiece by this point, along with Boston’s No. 27 pick in Tuesday’s draft,” he further added.
“The Celtics, like Miami, would naturally be asked to add players and future draft compensation to the ultimate trade construction. Sources say that the Bucks have interest in Boston’s prized young Spanish guard Hugo Gonzalez… The Celtics’ chances of beating out Miami thus could hinge on a third team to join the transaction to take on Brown,” Stein concluded.
The Celtics entered the race relatively late, or managed to keep their interest quiet until now. They were considered favorites to land Antetokounmpo as soon as they entered the race because everyone presumed they would include Jaylen Brown in any trade offers for Antetokounmpo.Â
Boston would have ideally wanted to retain both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, but keeping both and still being in the sweepstakes for Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed a bit far-fetched, as they can not come up with a considerable trade offer without them.
Once it was revealed that the Celtics are including Jaylen Brown in the conversations, it was further unraveled that the Bucks are looking for three key elements in any trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo: a win-now player, young players for the future, and draft picks.
They reportedly wanted the Celtics to include three first-round picks along with the offer, as well as a young player like Hugo Gonzalez. Considering that the Heat might not be the best option for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Celtics could become the next best option for him.
Meanwhile, the Bucks are expected to keep Jaylen Brown if they land him in any trade, despite the reports that Brown does not want to play in Milwaukee.
Therefore, it will certainly be fascinating to see if Brad Stevens, who spoke about his close relationship to Brown earlier this summer, would make the cold decision if presented with the option to potentially land Antetokounmpo in Boston.
