A pathway for the Celtics to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst made each Celtics fan flip their head when he mentioned that Boston might enter the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes on ESPN’s Get Up as we speak.

“The transfer for Giannis if he has management is to go to the East,” Windhorst mentioned. He later continued, “You need to have a look at the groups that would make a commerce for Giannis that the Bucks would settle for and on the opposite aspect of the commerce would have a contending staff. So, Boston could be on that record.”

It’s tough for the Celtics to have the ability to full a transfer for Antetokounmpo due to the place they’re within the wage aprons. The one participant they’ll commerce for Giannis with out being beneath the 2nd apron is Jayson Tatum as a result of he’s the one Celtic as a consequence of make greater than Giannis is subsequent season.

When a staff is over the 2nd apron, they can not purchase extra wage in a commerce than they’re sending out and so they additionally can’t put two or extra salaries collectively in any commerce.

Due to this fact, with a view to make a Giannis commerce, they would want to get beneath the second apron first.

That leads us to Kristaps Porzingis. If you happen to bear in mind in 2023, when the Celtics traded for Porzingis, the Utah Jazz had curiosity.

If Utah has curiosity once more, there may very well be a deal the place Boston might ship Porzingis to the Jazz who ship John Collins to the Hornets who ship Grant Williams and Josh Okogie to the Celtics. That deal would save the Celtics $9 million and get them to $10 million over the 2nd apron.

One other situation may very well be Milwaukee needs extra belongings than Boston is keen to supply.

In consequence, the Celtics might commerce Derrick White to the Golden State Warriors for Buddy Hield, Moses Moody and first spherical picks in 2028, 2030 and 2032 (the 2030 decide is owed to the Wizards whether it is 21-30 as a result of Jordan Poole for Chris Paul commerce).

That saves the Celtics $7 million, so they might be nearly $3 million over the 2nd apron.

They then might take Hield and Okogie, connect the worst of their very own, the Spurs and the Warriors 2028 first spherical decide to commerce these guys to a staff just like the Wizards who might ship a top-55 protected 2nd spherical decide in return — like what Boston bought once they traded Jaden Springer to the Houston Rockets.

The Wizards are in a position to make this commerce as a result of they’ve the over $14 million non-tax payer mid-level exception plus a $9 million traded participant exception they bought within the Jonas Valančiūnas commerce they made with the Sacramento Kings.

If the Celtics and Wizards did do a commerce like that, perhaps they work one thing out to make the 2030 Golden State decide absolutely unprotected by Boston sending further 2nd rounders within the deal to Washington.

That saves the Celtics $16 million and will get them nicely beneath the 2nd apron so they might have the ability to fill out their roster after the hypothetical Antetokoumpo commerce.

For the reason that Celtics would stay over the primary apron, they might not have the ability to purchase extra wage in any commerce than they’re sending out. Thus, Jaylen Brown for Antetokoumpo wouldn’t be a authorized commerce as a result of Brown makes $1 million lower than Antetokoumpo.

The Celtics might simply connect considered one of Jordan Walsh or Xavier Tillman and their $2 million wage, pending on what the Bucks consider Walsh. If the Bucks like Walsh, they might take him and if not, Tillman works simply the identical.

A deal may very well be Antetokoumpo for Brown, Walsh, the Celtics 2026 or 2027 first spherical decide, the Warriors 2030 first spherical decide (solely conveys whether it is 1-20), the Warriors 2032 first spherical decide and a 2031 decide swap through the Celtics. The 2026 or 2027 decide could be a selection of what Milwaukee needs, just like what we noticed within the Anthony Davis to the Lakers commerce and the James Harden to the 76ers commerce.

Is the distinction between Jaylen and Giannis three first spherical picks and a swap? I feel it’s round there. I like Jaylen, however Antetokounmpo is a top-5 participant within the league. Pairing him with Tatum could be unimaginable.

It isn’t such as you’d be gutting the Celtics completely both. Gamers like Jrue Vacation, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard would nonetheless be on the roster, they might re-sign Al Horford and Luke Kornet with the brand new discovered wiggle room beneath the 2nd apron and so they added Moses Moody and Grant Williams as nicely.

It might be an superior staff with a lot lineup flexibility.

After all, then it’s a must to contemplate the truth that Tatum is out for if not all of subsequent season, most of subsequent season.

Horford and Vacation do not get any younger and Antetokounmpo has performed a number of basketball. This staff would have a really small window and it might very probably be closed by the point Tatum will get again.

For that purpose, I don’t assume I’d go down this path if I used to be working the Celtics.

The window for that particular staff could be so brief — one, perhaps two years — and with out Tatum, it is extremely unlikely the Celtics would have the ability to compete for a championship subsequent season.

I don’t assume that the juice is definitely worth the squeeze for the Celtics have been to make a transfer like this.

Any deal for Antetokounmpo could be very complicated, very sophisticated and may be very unlikely. That doesn’t imply it’s not possible.