The Celtics joined the Lakers, Knicks, Cavaliers and Timberwolves in pursuing Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo before the NBA trade deadline in February, according to Shams Charania. ESPN also indicated that disappointing postseason finishes for some of those teams — Boston the only one eliminated already — could dictate pursuits this summer.
The Bucks will listen to Antetokounmpo offers ahead of the NBA Draft next month, opening the offseason’s biggest blockbuster early after Milwaukee co-owner Jimmy Haslam expressed a desire last week to resolve Antetokounmpo’s future before then. Charania added that the Bucks, who can offer Antetokounmpo a four-year, $275 million extension in October, continue to leave the door open to Antetokounmpo remaining with the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo, 32 in December, saw his averages drop across the board to 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game on 62.4% shooting, an improvement alongside his three-point shooting (33.3%) at low volume. He appeared in only 36 games due to a calf ailment that Antetokounmpo and the team reportedly disagreed about his ability to return from late in the season. Another calf injury in 2024 cost him the ability to appear in the Bucks’ first round loss to Indiana, and he missed two games in 2023 while the Heat upset Milwaukee in three games. His Bucks’ tenure over that stretch also became marked by roster overhauls and coaching changes that made the team worse since his last healthy postseason push in 2022, when the Celtics defeated him in seven games.
Still, Antetokounmpo ranks among the 4-5 best players in the league when healthy, making seven straight All-NBA First Teams prior to this season. He led the NBA in player efficiency rating this year, and provides the rim-threatening, defensive impact at the center position that Brad Stevens desired in his end-of-season press conference. A move would come with excruciating sacrifices, though, whether several years of draft picks, Brown or Tatum, or the entirety of the roster’s significant depth. Antetokounmpo has some say in his destination as well, long connected to New York City and complimentary of Joe Mazzulla, unprompted, in an interview late this season.
He can become an unrestricted free agent next summer by declining his $62.8 million team option. Giannis’ brothers Thanasis, an impending free agent, and Alex Antetokounmpo, who played on a two-way last year, have also joined him on the Bucks’ roster.
“My general feeling watching us play in each of the last two playoffs, in the second round against New York and even against Orlando in the first round, was we had a hard time generating really good looks on that first shot,” Stevens said last week. “We’ve got to figure out a way to do better in that. One of the things we’ve got to figure out is how to have more impact at the rim, and I think we do need to add to our team to do that.”