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The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumor mill is heating up again and the All-Star may be on his way out of Milwaukee after a lackluster start to the Bucks season. According to Shams Charania of ESPN.com, Antetokounmpo and his agent Alex Saratsis have started conversations with the Bucks about the MVP’s future with a resolution expected in the coming weeks. NBA trade season begins on December 15.
The Bucks have lost eight of their last nine games, including a defeat to the lowly Wizards with Antetokounmpo in the lineup on Tuesday night. The slump has pushed the Bucks out of the playoff picture in the East for now, making it hard for the franchise to sell to Antetokounmpo that they are an East contender despite an offseason makeover.
With the assumption that Antetokounmpo is looking to speed up his exit from the Bucks this season in these conversations, the domino effect for the Celtics and the rest of the NBA would be quite dramatic. Let’s take a look at the ramifications of a potential move.
COULD CELTICS GET INVOLVED IN GIANNIS TRADE TALKS?
There will be a long list of suitors for Antetokounmpo on the trade market and plenty will have many appealing draft and player assets. Given the outlook of the Bucks season, it’s hard to envision the franchise taking an offer built around veterans, likely making any Boston offer a non-starter. The Celtics are going to be good for awhile so their draft capital won’t be that appealing to Milwaukee. Would Jaylen Brown and other assets appeal to the Bucks in an offer? It’s hard to envision that being their best option given the state of the franchise.
That’s not to say the Celtics couldn’t get involved in the deal in other ways. Any deal involving a star with a massive salary like Antetokounmpo will likely involve several teams. Boston could attempt to achieve one of their potential trade season goals (finding a big man, potentially dodging luxury tax to enable more spending for next season) in the deal itself or as a secondary deal as part of the fallout. Anfernee Simons and Sam Hauser would be the names to keep an eye on in those scenarios.
WILL A CELTICS RIVAL LAND GIANNIS?
If Antetokounmpo isn’t going to stay put with the Bucks, the next best thing for the Celtics would be him heading to the Western Conference.
However, there have been plenty of top Eastern Conference teams linked to Antetokounmpo in recent months. The Knicks reportedly had talks with the Bucks over the summer but those fizzled out after no serious offer was made per ESPN. The Raptors were also tied to Antetokounmpo back in June by the Toronto Star. The Spurs and Rockets have a load of draft assets and young players as well that could emerge as factors. The same goes for the Atlanta Hawks, who have an emerging core and plenty of appealing draft capital including an unprotected Pelicans first-round pick for 2026. Antetokounmpo undoubtedly will have some say in his eventual landing spot, but all of these teams (outside of the Knicks) have both top talent and strong draft capital to make compelling offers to the Bucks.
With Antetokounmpo being eligible to sign a $275 million extension through the 2030-31 season next October, the implications of any Antetokounmpo move to another team in the East will loom large for the Celtics future. Boston’s brass will be watching this situation closely as they try to map out the team’s return to contention upon Jayson Tatum’s eventual recovery from a torn Achilles.