In all likelihood, this Celtics offseason will be defined by Boston offloading pieces from its championship core in pursuit of luxury tax relief, not making big-ticket additions to its roster.<\/p>\n
But a report this week from one prominent NBA insider listed the Celtics as a potential suitor for this summer\u2019s premier trade target: two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n
With Antetokounmpo potentially on his way out of Milwaukee after the Bucks\u2019 third consecutive first-round playoff exit, ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst said the 30-year-old superstar should be angling for a trade to another team in the Eastern Conference, which projects to be substantially weaker than the West next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was Giannis and I\u2019m looking at the lay of the land right now, I want to stay in the Eastern Conference,\u201d Windhorst said Thursday on ESPN\u2019s \u201cGet Up.\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t want to go to a Western Conference team because it\u2019s going to be a really hard mountain to climb.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Celtics, he said, \u201cwould be on that list<\/a>\u201d of teams that could acquire Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you have to look at the teams that could make a trade for Giannis that the Bucks would accept and on the other side of the trade would have a contending team, so Boston would be on that list,\u201d Windhorst said. \u201cBoston would be on that list. I think New York would be on that list. There\u2019s some difficulties when you talk about aprons and second-apron teams trying to make trades, and that\u2019s a reality, but there are some teams in the Eastern Conference you could construct an ability to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSome difficulties\u201d might be an understatement. It would require significant financial finagling for the Celtics, whose current roster is on track to be the most expensive in NBA history next season, to trade for Antetokounmpo, who\u2019s under contract for two more years, plus a player option, and will have a 2025-26 salary of $54.1 million. Boston\u2019s starting five alone is on the books for $198.4 million next season, including the $54.1 million owed to Tatum, who will miss at least a large portion of the season<\/a> after rupturing his Achilles earlier this month.<\/p>\n The Celtics\u2019 status as a second-apron team also severely restricts the type of trades they are allowed to make under league rules. They would need to shed roughly $20 million in salary from their current group to dip below the second apron \u2014 which they\u2019ll likely attempt to do this offseason<\/a> regardless of any potential interest in Antetokounmpo \u2014 and more than $40 million if they want to escape the luxury tax entirely.<\/p>\n Windhorst said a big swing for Antetokounmpo was more realistic before Tatum\u2019s injury but still could be doable despite those complications.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Boston was more interesting before the devastating Tatum injury because I don\u2019t know what you can possibly get from Jayson Tatum next year,\u201d Windhorst said. \u201cBefore that, I think that was a real conversation, and maybe it still could be.\u201d<\/p>\n Though the Bucks have faded from championship contention since winning it all in 2021, Antetokounmpo\u2019s production has not declined. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game this season and finished top-four in MVP voting for the seventh consecutive year (behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic and ahead of Tatum).<\/p>\n The multitalented 6-foot-11 forward was even better this postseason, averaging 33.0 points and 15.4 rebounds in Milwaukee\u2019s five-game loss to the Indiana Pacers, who now sit one win away from the NBA Finals. In the final game of that series, Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 20 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals and two blocks.<\/p>\n