The Boston Celtics have had a rollercoaster NBA offseason thus far. For Brad Stevens, his legacy leading the way for the franchise is at stake.
Early on in the offseason, the Celtics were one of the finalists in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes. At one point in time, they were viewed as the favorites to acquire the superstar forward. Unfortunately, things changed quickly.
When all was said and done, Boston ended up coming up short to the Miami Heat. Antetokounmpo was traded to the Heat and the Celtics were left with a tough Jaylen Brown situation.
Of course, Brown was included as the headline piece in the trade package going back to the Milwaukee Bucks. After the trade fell through and Miami swooped in, it was clear that the relationship between Boston and Brown was fractured.
On Wednesday, the Celtics ended up trading Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks. They have come under fire from the fan base and national media for getting such a small return.
All of that being said, a new update has been shared about what happened with Boston in the Antetokounmpo trade talks that made the team come up short.
New Update Shared About Celtics’ Failed Giannis Antetokounmpo Pursuit
Bill Simmons, a popular sports analyst and Boston super fan, revealed more details about what happened towards the end of the trade discussions.
According to Simmons, the Celtics were unwilling to give Antetokounmpo the extension he was looking for. That led to him deciding against taking his talents to Boston and instead becoming a member of the Heat.
NBA Central shared the reasoning from Simmons in a post on X.
“Giannis Antetokounmpo was ready to sign off on a trade to Boston, but the Celtics refused to give him the three-year max extension he wanted and were only willing to offer two year,” they wrote.
Needless to say, this isn’t the update the fan base wanted to see. The Celtics would have likely been able to get a deal done with the Bucks for Antetokounmpo if they had been willing to pay him the extension he was looking to get.
Brad Stevens Is Facing Massive Backlash After Jaylen Brown Trade
After pivoting to trading Brown to the 76ers, Stevens has become a very unpopular guy in Boston. Here are just a few of the social media comments being made about him.
“Brad Stevens, what type smoke are you smoking bro? You got tricked,” former NBA player Jason Williams said.
Another comment read, “Honestly would love to understand from brad stevens how drunk he was when he made this trade.”
“Simons going to Philly yea I’m rooting for them next year….Brad Stevens you’re an idiot,” a third fan wrote.
A fourth comment said, “I don’t want to hear about Brad Stevens being some GM guru anymore.”
“Brad Stevens is working for Philly now im confident,” another fan commented.
Only time will tell how these offseason moves play out for the Celtics. However, on the outside looking in, this offseason doesn’t look good for Boston.
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