Why a Giannis-Jaylen Brown swap between Celtics, Bucks can’t be counted out

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Why a Giannis-Jaylen Brown swap between Celtics, Bucks can’t be counted out

Brett Siegel, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Wed, Jun 3, 2026 ·

6 min read

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Why a Giannis-Jaylen Brown swap between Celtics, Bucks can't be counted out appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam told reporters in early May at Taylor Jenkins' introductory press conference that the organization would have a final decision on Giannis Antetokounmpo 's immediate future before the 2026 NBA Draft. Well, the draft is now less than three weeks away, and Giannis' future remains a major question mark around the league.

Talks about Giannis being traded have been ongoing since the start of the 2025-26 season, and things really heated up at the trade deadline when the Golden State Warriors , Miami Heat , and Minnesota Timberwolves all engaged in serious conversations with the Bucks about their two-time MVP.

Ultimately, Milwaukee kept Antetokounmpo and decided to sort through everything in the offseason. We are on the verge of getting a firm answer on whether Giannis will continue his career with the only franchise he's been able to call home over the last decade, and yet another layer of mystery still remains.

Despite the Heat being viewed as the clear favorites to strike a deal for the Bucks star, with a trade package involving Tyler Herro , young talent, and draft picks, one team operating behind the scenes that continues to come up in conversations with league personnel as a "hey, watch out for them" type of suitor is the Boston Celtics .

After losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia 76ers , it shouldn't be shocking to see Brad Stevens and the Celtics rumored to be in the mix for a mega star like Giannis.

The Celtics, under new owner Bill Chisholm, expect excellence and to be championship contenders every year. Even with Jayson Tatum working his way back from an Achilles injury, Boston entered this postseason as the favorites in the Eastern Conference. Losing their first series and watching Jaylen Brown struggle at times against the 76ers following his MVP-like campaign is certainly notable.

And it's what has everyone pondering what happens if Stevens and the Celtics truly do decide to go all-in and pursue Giannis.

After all, it wasn't a secret to anyone at the trade deadline that Boston was flirting with the idea of getting involved in these sweepstakes for one of the best players of this generation. Although they may not have the exact plethora of assets the Bucks want and other teams, like the Heat, can potentially give them, the Celtics do have Brown coming off his best season in the league at 29 years old.

Maybe Milwaukee wouldn't want Brown, but at the peak of his career and immediately being able to be a lead option on a playoff contender, several teams would be interested in helping facilitate a Giannis-to-Boston deal if it landed them one of the best two-way wings in the world.

More importantly than talking about Brown, maybe the Celtics are truly at the top of Giannis' list, which would dictate quite a lot of the next few weeks.

Are we sure Celtics aren't Giannis' No. 1 suitor?

Giannis has never once gone to the Bucks and demanded a trade. He has made it clear he wants to win and has spoken with the Bucks about a possible trade out of Milwaukee, but he's also been on the record stating several times that Milwaukee is his home and he doesn't want to leave.

That is why, until he is actually traded, we can't fully rule out the possibility of Giannis and the Bucks actually working things out.

As far as a potential trade goes and what is being discussed around the league, nobody should be surprised to hear the Heat mentioned as the top suitor. Pat Riley and Miami are always hunting for stars, and they have been the most aggressive team over the last year, willing to offer virtually every asset they have except Bam Adebayo.

Funny enough, Adebayo shares the same representation, Alex Saratsis of Octagon Basketball, as Giannis.

In terms of the Heat, they clearly want to finalize a deal for Giannis this offseason. However, does Giannis want to go there?

Even though Antetokounmpo doesn't have a no-trade clause, he has a lot of say in where he could potentially be traded since he owns a $62.8 million player option for the 2026-27 season and could simply say he won't sign a long-term extension with a team that trades for him.

Giannis has a lot more leverage in these ongoing trade talks than many are talking about, which is why if he is to be traded, Antetokounmpo will be moved to a team he approves of and will sign with long-term. Perhaps that could be the Heat in the coming weeks, but what if Giannis is secretly telling his camp and the Bucks that he wants to play for the Celtics?

New reporting from Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic on Wednesday outlined four Eastern Conference teams that have been linked to Antetokounmpo through the months, with the Celtics being one of them. Both Amick and Nehm made it clear the Heat are still the favorites, but that mystery factor surrounding Boston is what is really intriguing when looking at the Giannis sweepstakes.

All Antetokounmpo wants is to be in a winning situation and to make it back to the NBA Finals. Compared to going to the Heat, who would need to gut their roster around Adebayo just to acquire him, instead, being traded to Boston would create the easiest, most logical path for Giannis to compete for another championship.

After all, Tatum and Derrick White are already proven champions who are hunting for titles of their own. The Celtics are hungry for more championship success, and it's clear that Stevens will be making some changes to the roster in Boston this offseason.

Should the Celtics actually hold secret interest in Giannis right now before the 2026 NBA Draft, Brown would undoubtedly be the best pure talent the Bucks could get back in a trade. Whether they would want to keep him is a whole separate argument, but trading Giannis for Brown outweighs any other trade in terms of market value.

Then there is another interesting factor from The Athletic linking Giannis to Boston, as Amick and Nehm reported that there have been "indications" that Giannis is "intrigued" with the idea of joining the Celtics due to their position as a championship contender.

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, especially after Antetokounmpo pointed directly to Joe Mazzulla in an interview with the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal as an example of a perfect culture-setter and winning coach in the league — something he wants. When Giannis did this in April, he drew a lot of attention to the Celtics as a possible dark-horse trade suitor .

Just because they aren't in the spotlight and at the forefront of trade conversations doesn't mean that the Bucks and Celtics haven't held extensive conversations about a potential Giannis trade. Also, the ongoing speculation about Brown's future with the organization coming off his career year is noteworthy when thinking about the idea of Boston pursuing Antetokounmpo.

Jaylen Brown 's future still in question

This is an important offseason for Stevens and the Celtics to make the right roster moves to set themselves up for future success. The New York Knicks have clearly passed them as title contenders in the East, the Detroit Pistons are only going to get better, and the Indiana Pacers will be back in the contending status next year once Tyrese Haliburton returns.

Not to mention, the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic will be better during the 2026-27 season campaign as well.

That is why serious questions are being asked in Boston about the path forward, specifically if it's time to split the All-Star duo of Brown and Tatum. So far, the Celtics have adamantly pushed back at this idea , even making sure to put an end to the Brown stories about him being unhappy and not seeing eye to eye with Stevens right away.

But Brown has been more vocal than ever about the Celtics' struggles and how he believes this was the most fun he's had in his career. Many fans took exception to these comments due to Boston's championship run and Tatum not playing alongside him for the vast majority of the 2025-26 season.

Brown further clarified his comments about this being his favorite season by stating that the team overcame adversity and how great it was to watch the development of the young players on the roster. Honestly, it seemed like a lot of backtracking and trying to smooth things over by the All-Star, but we will give him the benefit of the doubt… for now.

Tatum is not going anywhere, as he is the face of the Celtics. If this team is to make a substantial offseason change, like many rival front offices are preparing for , it would undoubtedly involve either White or Brown. Stevens is always evaluating the trade market to see what is out there, especially in terms of value for his own players, which is why he will, or has maybe already done so, for Brown.

Is that why there are already rumors popping up about teams being interested in the Celtics' All-Star wing? Could some of those teams said to have interest in Brown already be filled in on Boston's pursuit of Giannis, and they could possibly be included as third or fourth teams in a deal to give Milwaukee assets for Brown?

These are real questions being asked around the league right now, and nobody seems to have a definitive answer. All in all, all roads lead back to the Celtics and what they are possibly planning before the 2026 NBA Draft, the deadline for the Bucks to make a decision on Giannis' future.

It is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities for the Celtics to trade for Giannis, and if they do so, Brown would be the major roster piece they move as a result. All signs may point to Miami right now for Giannis, but do not count out the Celtics being involved in talks behind the scenes.

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