The Boston Celtics currently have the second-highest odds to land disgruntled Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. While several reports have linked the Celtics to the former NBA MVP, the Miami Heat remain the favorite in the race.
Regardless of what the Heat are willing to give up for Antetokounmpo, the Celtics have something that Miami never will: a Finals MVP.
Bill Simmons, who has flipped in every direction on this issue, now believes that the Celtics could be using star Jaylen Brown as bait to drive up the price that their Eastern Conference rival is willing to pay to land the Bucks' forward.
"I think they were playing a little possum. I think they are in on Giannis. I’m not recanting what I said before. I don’t know the reasons for it," Simmons said. "Maybe they felt like Miami’s offer is an offer they could beat. Maybe they want to drive the price of Miami’s offer up and don’t really have interest in him."
Even in this brief excerpt, the famed Boston sports fan changed his stance four times. Still, the point remains. Whether or not the Celtics complete the trade for the All-Pro, they could be winners in all of this.
"Giannis is pushing for Miami or Boston," Simmons continued. "Those are the two locations, and he really wants to end up in Boston because he would have the best chance to win a title. Boston is not ruling out the idea, is my intel. In general, I’m prepared for anything with Boston now."
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