Five ways Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks could impact the Boston Celtics

They could get involved as a third team (and acquire someone good in the process)
It can prevent a team from trading with them
It could make them decide to wait on a deal
A competitor can acquire him
They could make a push for him (but probably not)

Giannis Antetokounmpo might have played his last game in Milwaukee. ESPN reported on Wednesday the Milwaukee Bucks are starting to listen to aggressive trades Antetokounmpo.

He is 31 years old and more injury prone than he’s ever been (he’s currently out with a recurring calf strain), but there's little doubt that he changes a team’s fortunes when he plays. Making a move for Antetokounmpo now would elevate most teams that trade for him.

The Boston Celtics have not been directly linked to any Antetokounmpo talks, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get involved or won’t be directly impacted. Here’s a look at five ways an Antetokounmpo deal could affect the Celtics.

They could get involved as a third team (and acquire someone good in the process)

Deals for big salaries are harder to do under the current CBA rules. Without boring you with the details, the CBA isn’t designed to have Antetokounmpo move without limitations or repercussions for good or expensive teams. Depending on how the deal is done, there could be hard caps involved at the first or second apron.

It’s a confusing mess.

This where third and fourth teams come in. A team like the Celtics, with Anfernee Simons’ nearly $27.7 million contract, could come in and help grease the skids. That salary can added to someone else’s deal to match Antetokounmpo’s salary, helping Giannis move to a new home.

Of course, the Celtics would have to be compensated for this as well. I’ve always personally thought that this might be the most likely way for the Celtics to acquire a rotation big man.

It doesn’t have to be a big, though. The Celtics can find a way snag a gem at any position from another team and then recalibrate their approach. One of the worst mistakes a team can make is putting blinders on and say “we’re only looking for a player at this position.”

ESPN reports Miami, Minnesota, New York, and Golden State are among the more serious suitors. Brooklyn, Atlanta, Detroit, and Houston are among the other teams with a lot to offer. Could this be how the Celtics pick up Day’Ron Sharpe and maybe another bench piece? Could there be a role player or two in this mix of teams that Boston snags as the price of doing business?

This is the kind of creative way Boston can build out their bench for next season. They have had their auditions this year and are fully aware of what they have. Getting involved as a third team can help them fix some of the roster flaws without giving up too much on the trade market.

It can prevent a team from trading with them

This is the biggest fish in the sea right now. Until someone hauls in Antetokounmpo, the rest of the league business might take a back seat.

That's not to say there won’t be any deals unless Giannis is moved, but teams who think they might be in the mix aren’t going to move assets that could be used to either land Antetokounmpo or facilitate it like I just laid out.

The conversations are ongoing, and there's no guarantee any deal will be done by the February 5 trade deadline. This saga could drag into the summer, which means teams who think they have a chance to be involved somehow, and that doing so is the best way to improve their team, will likely keep their powder dry for now.

It could make them decide to wait on a deal

That last sentence, by the way, could apply to the Celtics.

Brad Stevens and the Celtics front office are working the phones, for sure. And they will do what they think is best to improve the Celtics for a run at a championship, so I don’t think they’ll be held hostage by another team’s trade talks.

However, as I wrote about other teams, the Celtics could have a conversation with a team that makes them think waiting is better.

This current Celtics roster has worked hard to get to where they are, and because the goal is win a title with when Jayson Tatum is back and fully himself, this group can easily be left to make whatever run they’ll make without interruption. There's no need within the organization to make a move to push this year’s team at the expense of future success.

Waiting at this year’s deadline was a realistic option before the Antetokounmpo situation escalated, so waiting this out if it could produce the best yield for the Celtics is certainly an option.

A competitor can acquire him

Ideally, for the Celtics, Antetokounmpo would go to a Western Conference team and remove an obstacle from their path. However, the Bucks will be hitting a rebuild with this move, so they probably don’t care right away about seeing Antetokounmpo in New York or Miami.

He only has a few peak years left, so he’ll probably be retired by the time the Bucks are any good again. However, the Celtics could see the relief of watching him flounder on a poorly-constructed Bucks team switch to fear of him taking the Knicks, Nets, or Heat to another level. Suddenly, a Giannis-led team would be a problem again, just in time for Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s reunion and return to legitimacy.

This next championship window for Boston isn’t going to be a very long one, so I’m sure they’d enjoy seeing Antetokounmpo have to run a gauntlet out west. I’m sure Boston would love to have another superstar turning a west run to the NBA Finals into a Royal Rumble.

They could make a push for him (but probably not)

The least likely scenario in my opinion because it would mean trading Brown or Tatum. Tatum’s contract matches Antetokounmpo’s exactly, and Brown’s is close.

But because Brown’s doesn’t, we head into weird cap minutia that complicates this scenario too much. And I don’t believe for a second that Boston would trade Tatum. So while this scenario is technically possible, I don’t think Boston can make a realistic push.

I can’t even find a magical route to acquire him without Tatum or Brown. Doing so would put so many restrictions on them that filling out the rest of the roster would be almost impossible.

My expectation after all of this that the Celtics will actively be part of the Giannis trade discussions, but as no more than a third team. And they won’t let it get in the way of what they're trying to do for Boston’s future. However, because Antetokounmpo is who he is, other teams might stall the process some. Luckily for the Celtics, they're not under a time crunch, and can wait this out if they need to.