Why Celtics didn't trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Why Celtics didn’t trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Boston Celtics were one of the finalists for a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.

But just before midnight on Monday night, the Milwaukee Bucks traded Giannis to the Miami Heat.

In other words, the Celtics missed out.

It’s one of those deals where you wonder why the Celtics wouldn’t have gone one step further to get a trade done.

But on paper, it becomes pretty clear what may have held Boston back.

MORE: Why the Bucks traded Giannis to the Heat

Why didn’t the Celtics trade for Giannis?

This wasn’t solely about the Celtics, but more about the specifics of their trade offer.

From the Heat, the Bucks got four players, led by Tyler Herro. They also got three first-round picks and a pick swap and a second-round pick.

ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote on X that the Celtics hadn’t offered nearly as much.

Their offer, Shams wrote, was two first-round picks to go along with Jaylen Brown.

BLOCKBUSTER: The Milwaukee Bucks are trading franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 3 first-round picks (including No. 13), 1 pick swap and 1 second-rounder, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/NQT5ZhdJU9

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2026

MORE: Giannis legacy with the Bucks remains intact

Most would make the case that Brown is better than Herro, but is it by enough to turn down such a deep package?

Clearly, the Bucks felt they were getting the best possible package. This isn’t solely dealing Antetokounmpo to Miami to avoid sending him to Boston.

The Celtics went for it, though. They felt they had a chance. They just didn’t offer quite enough in the end.

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