Giannis Antetokounmpo Traded To Miami. Where Does That Leave Boston Celtics?

Miami's pick-rich offer was accepted by the Milwaukee Bucks, raising a question now about the relationship between Jaylen Brown and the Celtics

Apr 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives against Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Despite all the momentum on Monday pointing to the Boston Celtics as the favorites, Giannis Antetokounmpo will be joining the Miami Heat. 

Here’s the deal, according to ESPN: 

Miami receives: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis
Milwaukee Receives: Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 2026 1st round pick (#13), unprotected first round picks in 2031 and 2033, pick swap in 2030, second round pick in 2033

According to Shams Charania, the deal won’t get done until the July 6, so there is still room for other teams to join in and expand the trade. 

From Boston’s perspective, Charania reports Boston offered Jaylen Brown and two first round picks. The Celtics were reportedly being pushed to at least add Hugo Gonzalez to the deal, but apparently Brad Stevens thought Brown’s star power was enough and that two picks was his limit. 

As I wrote earlier Monday, an expensive overpay would have been a sign that the Celtics thought that directly offering Brown was a bridge too far for their relationship. The biggest question for the Celtics in the immediate aftermath is where the relationship is with Brown and whether they still have to move him. Stevens is scheduled to address the media after the conclusion of the first round of the NBA draft tomorrow night, and this will be one of the first questions he’ll have to answer. 

For what it’s worth, Brown has spoken glowingly about Stevens and Boston this offseason. When addressing reports of frustration with the franchise, Brown took to his Twitch stream to directly address it. 

"I hate that our president of basketball operations even had to respond to this,” he said. “Me and Brad have a great relationship. I love Boston. If it was up to me I could play in Boston for the next 10 years."

Brown did acknowledge the current rumors in a live stream, but didn’t express a preference. There were reports Monday that Brown was open to the move and interested in leading his own team, but Yahoo!’s Kevin O’Connor reported that Bucks ownership was not willing to risk Brown asking out after a year in Milwaukee and having to go through this process again.  

Sources say Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam was a driving force in taking the Heat deal for Giannis over Boston’s offer. Haslam didn’t want to risk Jaylen Brown wanting out of Milwaukee in a year after dealing with Giannis and Myles Garrett trade demands. Haslam wanted certainty, and…

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) June 23, 2026

So where do things go from here? There will undoubtedly be a flood of offers from teams checking to see if the relationship has been severed. If Brown is put off by the way this was handled and says he wants out, Stevens can hold a proper bidding war for Brown and try to build a different kind of contender around Jayson Tatum. 

But if Stevens is a master fence-mender, and if Brown can accept this was just business as usual in the NBA, then maybe there's a chance this can move forward. He is eligible for an extension this offseason, so one way to fix that relationship is to immediately offer him the maximum amount. 

If that relationship is still okay, then Boston can get back to the original plan of adding via their mid-level and traded player exceptions. If not, then this offseason just took an incredibly interesting turn. Tuesday night will bring some level of clarity to the situation.