Analyzing the actual assets in Boston’s Giannis Antetokounmpo trade package for Bucks

The Giannis Antetokounmpo rumor mill just won’t quit! The Miami Heat remain favorites but a report from Bill Simmons after Game 4 of the NBA Finals spiced up the Giannis sweepstakes, as Simmons believes the Boston Celtics are truly interested in acquiring the Greek Freak.

1:07:30 on the Spotify video. pic.twitter.com/hKX4wpTud4
— Josh Gosser (@joshgosser) June 11, 2026

I didn’t anticipate my piece deep diving Miami’s trade package to become a series, but it only makes sense to continue analyzing as new teams throw their hat into the ring for Antetokounmpo. Could the San Antonio Spurs be next? We’ll see! (But probably not.)

The Big Piece – Jaylen Brown

Apr 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Whereas the Heat trade package for Giannis’ strength is its mix of several prospects and draft selections, Boston’s is simpler to describe: it’s all about Jaylen Brown. There’s no question that Brown is a better singular asset and player than anybody Miami or realistically any team would actually offer.

We’re talking about a player who’s accomplished all of the following before turning 30 this October: five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, NBA champion and Finals MVP, and fresh off leading a Celtics team without superstar Jayson Tatum to an unexpected 56-26 record.

Brown is a true star wing player, the most valuable archetype in the modern NBA. He just averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 52.3 percent from two and 34.7 percent from three. He’s proven he can be the engine of a great team, and based on his comments along the way that he rather enjoys being the engine vs an engine.

Sharing the spotlight with another superstar wing player wouldn’t be an issue for Brown in Milwaukee. If the Bucks are motivated to get back to winning ways as fast as possible, Jaylen Brown is the best they could do to plug a single player in for Giannis to keep going.

Is that the most prudent decision, given the drastic infrastructure differences between Boston (one of the most well-run franchises in the league) and Milwaukee (not that)? Probably not! But given the Bucks don’t control their draft pick from 2027 to 2030 it’s not like true tanking is an option either.

It’s definitely worth noting that Brown is on a huge contract that will pay him $57 million next season, and escalates to $64.9 million in 2028-29. Given the large amount of dead cap on the Bucks’ books due to the Damian Lillard waive-and-stretch, Milwaukee won’t have much financial flexibility with Brown. He’s also eligible for an extension next month that could tack as much as $141 million onto the deal over an additional two seasons.

There is a path where Boston’s offer makes sense even if the Bucks do want to target a younger and less expensive player than Brown. But let’s cover the other assets Boston can offer first before circling back to Brown’s own trade value.

Additional Celtics Players

Feb 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) celebrates with Boston Celtics guard Hugo Gonzalez (28) during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Boston’s offer starts incredibly strong with Jaylen Brown, but the player side fizzles pretty quickly afterward. Assuming Jayson Tatum is off the table, the next-most valuable player Boston has is Derrick White. Despite his shooting slump this past season White remains an elite two-way guard and surely would hold value to the Bucks or another team if he were included, but it’d require the Bucks sending out another highly paid player or two to match his $30 million salary.

All of the reasons that make White appealing to other teams make him even more appealing to Boston in a world where they’ve invested most of their assets in pairing two big wings in Tatum and Giannis. I wouldn’t project White to be in the deal, but could be wrong.

The rest of Boston’s roster is basically role players on good contracts, none of whom really materially change the offer much. Maybe Milwaukee would covet 2025 first round pick Hugo Gonzalez after a fun rookie season in Boston, or young wing Baylor Scheierman, but it’s hard to project either as any more than a role player even with the most Celtics-colored glasses.

This isn’t to say there’s no value in adding those players to a deal, but a lack of upside does reduce their appeal to a team like the Bucks that would be looking to build a new contending core.

Boston’s Pick Situation

Like Miami, the Celtics have a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft they could send Milwaukee to double the Bucks’ selections. Unlike Miami, the Celtics were really good last season, so they own the 27th overall pick. Having more first round selections is always valuable to a degree, but 27 overall is obviously far less appealing than a lottery pick.

Despite all of Boston’s wheeling and dealing in acquiring and then dumping Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, the Celtics actually still have most of their future picks. They do owe a 2029 first to Portland, but otherwise only have a pending 2028 swap with the Spurs tying up their own selections.

That means Boston can execute a deal post-draft sending 27 overall plus their first-round picks in 2027, 2031, and 2033 to Milwaukee if they wanted to send the full pick package possible for Giannis. The Celtics have the Bucks own 2026 second round pick they could include plus second rounders in 2032 and 2033 as well.

Boston’s Total Package

Feb 11, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Brad Stevens the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics congratulates guard Jaylen Brown (7) for receiving the NBA player of the month award for his performance in the month of January before their game against the Chicago Bulls at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Assuming the Celtics are interested enough in adding Giannis Antetokounmpo to provide the rim pressure Brad Stevens cited as a need, their total trade package looks something like this: Jaylen Brown, Hugo Gonzalez, the 27th and 40th overall picks, and future first-round picks in 2027, 2031, and 2033.

If Milwaukee is solely focused on being a playoff team in 2027, adding Jaylen Brown and some draft assets might be enough to choose Boston’s package.

If the Bucks don’t care about when they’re good and just want the most value possible, their choice between these two options hinges on the re-trade value of Brown.

Miami’s draft pick package is better than Boston’s in my opinion. While technically the Heat may only be able to send two future picks instead of three depending on the protected pick they owe the Hornets, 13 overall in a deep draft class is simply a much better asset than the combo of 27 and 40. It also feels more prudent to bet against the future success of Miami's remaining core than it would Jayson Tatum in the 2030s.

But as previously stated, Brown himself is a stronger asset than any one of Miami’s players. It’s hard to imagine any of Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, or Kasparas Jakucionis fetching much more than one first round pick worth of value, whereas Brown should be “worth” far more to contending teams.

Teams like the Pistons, Raptors, or Trail Blazers who have either their own or other teams’ firsts to spend in pursuit of a clear talent upgrade sending multiple firsts and prospects for Brown could end up being more valuable to Milwaukee than the Heat prospects. It’s hard to say definitively which trade sends more total value to the Bucks without knowing how much a third party would send for Jaylen Brown.

This is the reason the Bucks aren’t rushing to accept the first good offer they get. Milwaukee needs to be canvassing the entire league on not just what they can get for Giannis but for other players they could receive for him to decide the best path ahead.

Whether the Bucks really want a new franchise player immediately or they believe they could add additional picks and players in a subsequent or three-team trade, Boston looms as a real suitor for Giannis Antetokounmpo if the Celtics are willing to push in all of their chips.

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