Are the Boston Celtics working in silence to pull off a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade?
After the Boston Celtics‘ disappointing playoff exit and the injury to Jayson Tatum, there will be a lot of necessary changes on the team.
The Celtics’ $500 million wage bill just isn’t sustainable anymore. Especially since the Grousbecks have chosen to sell the team.
As such, several Celtics stars are expected to be moved. The Celtics have begun listening to offers for Jrue Holiday, while Derrick White could also potentially be traded.
Outside of Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are fielding calls for all their stars. But how could this be a sign that they’re secretly working on a trade to land Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Marcus Morris claims Boston Celtics could trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Former Celtics player Marcus Morris spoke to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports about the future of Boston. He believes GM Brad Stevens might be planning something big.
“It was very interesting to see that the Celtics [were] willing to listen to calls on Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. I’m gonna tell you that now, that was a little sneaky. Not in the sense of doing bad by the players, but I think that was ahead of the Giannis thing.
“Just think about Giannis in the Boston Celtics jersey and getting ready to gear up with Jayson Tatum to come back. Those are the conversations that I see happening.
“That puts Milwaukee in a great spot. You get Jaylen Brown back at 28, you get Derrick White back at 30, or whatever that may be… you kind of keep a good core intact.
“If I’m Giannis, I’m definitely taking a step back and saying: ‘Hold on, Boston is a great spot.’ You know, they got a great coaching staff, a great upper management, so I think it’s something that, you know, we should keep our eye on.”
NBA Insider believes Boston Celtics could also make a play for Kevin Durant
What if Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t the only star the Celtics might be looking at? Giannis’ future with the Bucks and any trade request could go either way.
NBA insider Brett Siegel spoke about the Kevin Durant situation after the latest reports. While he pointed to the Timberwolves and Raptors looking at Durant as a rental like Kawhi Leonard in 2019, Siegel also wondered whether the Celtics were doing the same.
“What if the Celtics are one of the mystery teams talking behind the scenes about getting Durant as a rental to cut costs? I doubt the teams could make the overall money work, but it’s definitely interesting to discuss.”
Durant initially demanded a trade to the Boston Celtics in 2022, while he was still with the Nets. It’s hard to imagine that the interest in Durant would have wavered in the years since.
The Celtics have a lot of moves to make this offseason. Without Jayson Tatum, they won’t be able to compete in the East.
And with so many big-contract players on their books, they have to start shedding some salaries from their bill. Expect the Celtics to be a big player in this offseason, regardless of whether they make a big blockbuster trade.
