The Boston Celtics have reportedly emerged as a serious trade suitor for Giannis Antetokounmpo following their shocking first-round loss in the NBA playoffs.
According to insider Marc Stein, the chatter of a Giannis trade is only expected to intensify this offseason, given Jaylen Brown’s controversial comments after the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“There will inevitably be people who bring back the, ‘Do they break up Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown’ — like, that storyline will probably come back,” Stein told Sirius XM’s “Deals and Dunks” podcast on Monday, via NESN.
“There have been some rumblings at various points during the season that the Celtics could be a stealth Giannis team and a team that potentially interests Giannis. So let’s keep our eye on the Celtics. We know Brad Stevens is not afraid to make big moves and take big swings. So I think we have to be ready for just about anything with Boston.”
Celtics Face Big Decisions
As Stein alluded to, Celtics front-office boss Brad Stevens has not been afraid to swing for the fences in recent years. In 2022, he reportedly offered Jaylen Brown and Derrick White to the Brooklyn Nets in a potential deal for Kevin Durant, less than a month after the Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Besides potentially offering Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks in a Giannis trade, the Celtics will have up to six tradeable first-round picks they can use in deals this summer. The Celtics also have promising young players like Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman and Neemias Queta that can generate trade interest from teams.
Amid the rumors, the Celtics now have the second-highest probability rate to pull off a Giannis trade this summer, per Kalshi Sports.
Will Celtics Trade Jaylen Brown?
It’s not every day that a franchise moves a player who finishes top-5 in MVP voting, as Jaylen Brown is expected to do. However, Brown may be dealing with some frustrations with the Celtics organization, according to his mentor, Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady.
“I think his frustration lies deeply in the organization that we don’t have the details to,” McGrady said on his “Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady” podcast.
“… There’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing, just going on with the Boston organization with JB.”
McGrady’s comments came shortly after Brown took some underhanded shots at Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and co-star Jayson Tatum after his team blew a 3-1 lead for the first time in franchise history.
Notably, Brown said on his Twitch stream that he wished the Celtics “trusted the style of play” that propelled them to 56 wins in the regular season, suggesting that shorter playoff rotations hurt the team’s chemistry. Many felt the comments were a shot at Boston’s coaching staff. Brown also turned heads when he called the 2025-26 campaign “the favorite year” of his career, which many perceived as a shot at Tatum, who missed the first 62 games of the regular season rehabbing from an Achilles injury.
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