How the Boston Celtics Could Land Giannis Antetokounmpo in a Blockbuster Trade
The Milwaukee Bucks face a ticking clock with their franchise player. Giannis Antetokounmpo will either accept or reject an extension this offseason. If it's the latter, the team needs a trade before he leaves in free agency after the 2026-27 season.
B/R is examining the best realistic offers Milwaukee would expect from several teams, including:
The timing is tricky for the Bucks, since Antetokounmpo won't be eligible to extend until October 1, making their best window for a deal ahead of the NBA draft in June and the free-agent period in July, when teams are at their most financially flexible.
Whatever he intends to do in October must be communicated clearly over the next two months. Meanwhile, if the Boston Celtics are willing to break up their All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for Antetokounmpo, the Bucks may be able to bring back one of the NBA's top scoring forwards.
Full Trade Details
1 of 4
The Boston Celtics receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, $706,566 trade exception
The Milwaukee Bucks receive: Jaylen Brown, Max Shulga, 2026 first-rounder (No. 27), 2027 first-rounder
Trade Details
2 of 4
In a deal agreed to before the draft, the Bucks inform the Celtics who to select at No. 27. The trade can be consummated on July 6 after the NBA's annual moratorium.
Boston acquires Antetokounmpo by aggregating Brown and Shulga, triggering a second-apron hard cap at a projected $221.7 million. The first-round pick in 2027 is unprotected.
Brown has a 7% trade bonus, capped at $7 million; however, he can't earn more than the max, so that the Celtics would owe him $2 million instead. Antetokounmpo earns too much to receive any of his 15 percent trade bonus from the Bucks. Milwaukee doesn't trigger a hard cap, taking Brown in via Antetokounmpo's salary, with the $706,566 remainder a minuscule trade exception. Shulga is acquired via the minimum exception.
Why the Boston Celtics Do It
3 of 4
It's not complicated. The Celtics upgrade from a top-20 player to a top-5, shifting from Brown to Antetokounmpo.
The leap of faith for Boston is choosing Jayson Tatum over Brown, as either can work in a deal with the Bucks. Tatum, who returned early from an Achilles tear, was forced to sit out the Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers with knee issues. Still, he appears to be the face of the franchise, with Brown a high-level wingman.
That's not to denigrate what Brown has accomplished with the Celtics, including winning the 2024 NBA Finals MVP and carrying the load through a tremendous regular season while Tatum was sidelined.
While Brown hasn't suffered as serious an injury as Tatum, he still has durability concerns. The Celtics' financial picture doesn't change significantly. The team can choose to stay under the luxury tax while using most of the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Those numbers shift if retaining Nikola Vučević is a priority, but with the emergence of Neemias Queta and Luka Garza, Vučević may be expendable.
Why the Milwaukee Bucks Do It
4 of 4
Assuming Antetokounmpo makes it clear he intends to move on, the team should canvass the league for the best possible offers. Antetokounmpo also has leverage in where he ends up. He's expected to opt out of his $62.8 million for 2027-28 and can use the threat of walking as an unrestricted free agent in 2027 should Milwaukee send him to an undesired location.
The Celtics are a storied franchise and among the best teams in the Eastern Conference, even if their run fell short early this year. They sell Antetokounmpo on the pairing with Tatum for him to agree to ultimately extend in Boston.
Many will argue that the Bucks should earnestly begin the rebuilding process, but the franchise doesn't have its own first-round pick in 2027. If trading Antetokounmpo is the outcome, multiple NBA sources believe Milwaukee intends to stay competitive. Brown will be among the best attainable players, should Boston make the offer.
As a five-time All-Star, Brown just finished his highest-scoring season at 28.7 points per game. He played in 71 games, helping the Celtics surprise many as they won 56 games and earned the No. 2 seed. Tatum returned in early March, but Brown kept the Celtics a force in the interim.
Boston would want to do the deal straight up, All-Star for All-Star, but Milwaukee should have enough leverage to extract a couple of first-round picks. The Celtics negotiate the 2026 and 2027 selections to help Milwaukee add talent more quickly.
The Bucks should pursue distant selections in 2031 and/or 2033 instead, but that may be too much to ask of the Celtics, who value Brown tremendously. Whether Brown is enough for Antetokounmpo will depend on competing offers, Antetokounmpo's willingness to extend, and the Bucks' apparent determination to stay as relevant as possible in the Eastern Conference, even without their current superstar.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X @EricPincus and Bluesky.
