The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have been running neck-and-neck in recent days as the teams careen toward the finish line on a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. The sides are offering the Bucks very disparate trade packages, as things stand, with the Heat putting forth an array of young assets–none of which possess jaw-dropping talent–and the Celtics offering, basically, Jaylen Brown and some filler.
That filler could be last year’s first-round pick, Hugo Gonzalez, and/or the Celtics pick in this year’s draft, the No. 27 pick overall. The Bucks are asking for both, and more, but the Celtics are trying to reel in just how many extras they’d be willing to package with Brown for Antetokounmpo.
Still, the more that drips out about the potential deal, the more it appears to be happening. As veteran NBA insider Chris Haynes of NBA TV reported on Monday night, the Celtics have seized the lead in the Antetokounmpo race.
‘Boston Celtics Are the Front-Runners to Land Giannis Antetokounmpo’
Speaking on NBA TV, Haynes reported that the Bucks had, in fact, been weighing whether to scrap the draft-night deadline set back in May by co-owner Jimmy Haslam and drag the Antetokounmpo saga into July. But it was only this weekend that they nixed that idea.
Said Haynes: “From what I am hearing, it sounds like the Boston Celtics are the front-runners to land Giannis Antetokounmpo. 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.
“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.”
Would Celtics Add Hugo Gonzalez?
It would not be ideal, of course, if the Celtics had to cough up more assets beyond Brown to get Antetokounmpo. The Celtics are eyeing big-man solutions with the No. 27 pick in this draft, and giving up on Gonzalez would mean cashing in one of the better young pieces on the Boston roster. Including one or both with Brown would be a big blow to the Celtics’ depth.
In his postseason press conference Celtics poobah Brad Stevens told reporters that the truth of the current roster is that it is not good enough to contend.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Solves a Lot of Problems
The Celtics were missing a lot last year. But as one exec pointed out last week to Heavy Sports, Antetokounmpo’s versatility makes roster-building a lot easier for Boston.
“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.
“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.”
Celtics Now ‘Front-Runners’ in Giannis Antetokounmpo Sweepstakes: Insider