Another report from a prominent NBA insider has connected the Celtics to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Boston was one of several teams that inquired about the two-time NBA MVP ahead of the trade deadline in February, according to a report Monday from ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“Sources said postseason teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers pursued Antetokounmpo at the February deadline,” Charania wrote, “and their finishes to the campaign will play a major factor in their aggressiveness to trade for Antetokounmpo.”
Of those five teams, only the Celtics — who ultimately dealt Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic and dumped the salaries of three deep reserves at the deadline — did not advance past the first round of the playoffs, losing to the underdog Philadelphia 76ers in seven games. In his end-of-season news conference, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said he was “pissed” about the team’s first opening-round exit since 2021 and vowed to improve Boston’s roster this summer.
Stevens specifically mentioned the Celtics’ need to “have more of an impact at the rim,” adding: “I think we do need to add to our team to do that.” Few in the NBA are more capable in that area than Antetokounmpo, who led the league in made field goals inside five feet per game in each of the last five seasons.
Charania also reported that “rival executives believe that Antetokounmpo’s desired teams will be the largest factor in his trade destination.” The 31-year-old superstar shared unprompted praise for Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla earlier this season, and a report over the weekend from The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Eric Nehm suggested that Antetokounmpo would prefer to join a contending team in the Eastern Conference — two boxes Boston checks.
Antetokounmpo is set to make $58.5 million next season and has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-27. Calf injuries limited him to 36 games for a dreadful Milwaukee team this season, but he’s an elite talent when healthy, finishing top-five in MVP voting in each of the previous seven campaigns and averaging 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game in 2024-25.
Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam recently said the team hopes to reach a decision on Antetokounmpo’s future by the start of the 2026 NBA Draft on June 23.
As for what it would take to acquire Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ asking price is expected to be “a young blue-chip talent and/or a surplus of draft picks,” per Charania, who reported Milwaukee is “open for business on trade calls and offers.” His market is expected to be “robust,” Charania reported, with play-in teams like the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat also among the suitors.
To make a theoretical Antetokounmpo trade work financially, the Celtics would need to include either one of Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, or a package of multiple second-tier veterans, like Derrick White, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard. Boston controls its own first-round pick in each of the next two drafts and four of the next six.
Brown, who played at an All-NBA level this season while Tatum recovered from Achilles surgery, has been the subject of renewed trade rumors since Boston’s brief playoff run concluded. The 29-year-old said last week on a Twitch stream that he loves Boston and has a “great relationship” with Stevens, adding: “If it were up to me, I would play in Boston for the next 10 years.”