The Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes has taken over the NBA. Even though the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat seem to be the last two teams standing, plenty of others have been dragged into the mess.
In the case of the Celtics, it’s teams looking to land Jaylen Brown, as he would likely be rerouted to the Milwaukee Bucks by a third team. The Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Atlanta Hawks have all been mentioned.
Meanwhile, the same can be said about Tyler Herro, who could also be moved elsewhere in the event of an Antetokounmpo-Heat trade. The Detroit Pistons have been the headliner in that regard.
It seems as though the entire league is playing cat and mouse, waiting for the Antetokounmpo trade to be completed before making any other moves. And in the interim, some other rumblings have been popping up in Celtics land.
Sam Amick of The Athletic just put out a rumor dump that included the Minnesota Timberwolves’ potential interest in Derrick White. ‘Strong interest’ to be exact.
Simultaneously, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line recently mentioned that the Celtics have had interest in Wolves big man Rudy Gobert in the past. Specifically, at the trade deadline this past year.
A straight-up White-for-Gobert swap would work financially for both sides.
And in that same paragraph about White, Amick noted that the Portland Trail Blazers would have ‘serious interest’ in Brown if the Celtics made him available.
Those aren’t the only non-Antetokounmpo Celtics rumblings, though. Amick noted that the Celtics are one of the teams that could be in on a Trey Murphy III trade this summer, particularly if they fail to land Antetokounmpo. (It always comes back to Antetokounmpo.)
Also — since they’re unavoidable now — there are some more Antetokounmpo rumblings that just hit the social media sphere. Gery Woelfel, a long-time Milwaukee reporter, mentioned that the Celtics have recently intensified their efforts to land Antetokounmpo. However, that could just be counter-smoke from the Bucks because…
Locked On Pistons host Ku Khahil stated that the Herro-to-the-Pistons talks have been growing louder and louder: “I’m hearing Tyler Herro to Detroit is picking up steam.”
On top of that, Los Angeles Lakers insider Anthony F. Irwin reported (for Offside) that they may get involved in a potential deal, with Isaiah Stewart being named as a potential Lakers target.
Lots of smoke is going around right now.
Before getting into more Antetokounmpo stuff, what would a White-Gobert trade look like from a team-building standpoint? Well, that’s another question.
White struggled on offense this past year, but he’s still one of the best defenders in the NBA. And his ball-handling is important. With Jayson Tatum back, I expect him to return to the version of White that Boston fell in love with. And trading him for Gobert would leave the Celtics in need of more guard depth.
As for the Wolves, Gobert is the backbone of their
