Boston Celtics
“Jaylen Brown is on the table and I believe Jaylen Brown could get traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo in the short term.”
Giannis Antetokunmpo. AP Photo/Aaron Gash
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With the Bucks’ self-imposed deadline ahead of this week’s NBA Draft getting closer, the Celtics’ push to land Giannis Antetokounmpo has ramped up according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
The Celtics are one of two front-runners to land the two-time league MVP, and Boston is reportedly willing to part with Jaylen Brown to get the deal.
“The Celtics and the [Miami Heat] are the two teams that are aggressively going after Giannis, I would say they are the finalists,” Windhorst said. “If Giannis is going to be traded in the next 24 hours, which I think is a good chance of happening, it’s either going to be to Boston or Miami.
“[Boston] was very cautious about putting Jaylen Brown in an official firm offer,” he added. “I believe they have. Jaylen Brown is on the table and I believe Jaylen Brown could get traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo in the short term.”
Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said he expects a decision to be made before the NBA Draft, which begins Tuesday night.
ESPN’s Shams Charania said the Celtics’ trade package will center around Brown. He also added that the trade is expected to involve just two teams.
“There’s no third team, fourth team, in any construct right now,” Charania said. “Now, the sides could leave this open. Remember when Kevin Durant was traded a year ago in June, it ended with those two teams but it turned into seven potential teams by the end of the offseason. That could certainly happen here.”
“These have been intense negotiations, we know the Giannis situation has gone on for about 13 months now,” he added. “They have engaged in trade conversations at the deadline. They’ve been open for business since the draft combine in May. They’ve narrowed in on these two teams right now. My understanding is that [Antetokounmpo] is ready to be traded to either Boston or Miami.”
The Celtics are looking to make big changes after back-to-back early playoff exits, Windhorst said. That might happen regardless of what happens with the Antetokounmpo situation.
“The Celtics are stone-cold sober,” Windhorst said. “They think they’re not as good as the Knicks. They’re not sure they’re going to be as good as the Pacers next year when they come back fully healthy, and they believe they need to upgrade their team.
“And I am now speculating that if Jaylen Brown doesn’t get traded for Giannis, they may trade him somewhere else. That is one of the things that has emerged.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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