It Feels Significant That All Of The Tapped In Miami Heat Reporters Continue To Talk About How The Celtics Are A Legit Threat To Steal Giannis
Patrick McDermott. Getty Images.Given the self-imposed deadline of the NBA Draft that the Bucks have given themselves to find a resolution to the Giannis situation, it makes sense that we're starting to see more and more smoke from all angles. With only 11 days to go, my guess is this is only going to increase, despite none of us having any idea what to believe or put stock into.
Whenever these situations come up, you have to try and determine if what you're reading is "real" compared to how much of it is actually a leverage play. When it comes to the Giannis trade, I think anything and everything could be possible. When it comes to the Celtics involvement, let's just say things have been all over the place
This includes today's recent little tidbit, where depending on who you want to believe, things are very real, with the idea that there's already confidence that Giannis would sign an extension should the Celts pull the trigger on a trade, which is obviously the most important part of the deal should it happen
What we can gather, it is that it feels like this is a two-team race between the Celtics and Heat, which is why this little nugget of info is important
If Antetokounmpo would be willing to sign the four-year, $275 million extension in Boston, as league sources indicated would be the case, the Celtics pose a serious threat to the Heat’s pursuit. Celtics star Jaylen Brown is widely believed to be the most prominent player who would come the Bucks’ way in that deal, though rival teams expect that Milwaukee would trade the 29-year-old forward again for younger players and draft picks.
I find this to be significant for a few reasons. First, this is really our first look into the potential plan for this new ownership group. There's a good amount of valid skepticism that this new private equity ownership group is in fact not interested in spending money but rather cutting costs to maximize their profits. A common fear from the fanbase is that they don't care about winning, and that they only care about making money. Well, being willing to offer the max extension tells us that they are willing to have 2 supermax deals moving forward, which is key information. But then there's the second part where that report suggests the belief is that Giannis would sign the extension. With that in mind, I have a hard time believing Giannis would sign that extension if the plan for this ownership group was to continue not spending and avoid the luxury tax, even after resetting the repeater penalty. So if you are someone who is concerned about that aspect of the Celts' future and what this new group is willing to do, I would say that news is encouraging. They have to obviously prove it when the time comes, but that doesn't come off as an ownership group that is not willing to spend if we are to believe that reporting is true.
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As with all of this stuff, you have to do your best to put the pieces together that are coming out from all sides. OK, so this is saying not only are the Celtics in, but they also have the big extension question figured out, which is why they are now a real threat to the Heat. We now have to compare that to what we are currently hearing from two extremely tapped in Miami Heat media members, two guys who are basically a direct line to that front office.
As Mike Brown said last night, you need luck in sports. Here's where the Heat needs luck: For anyone who wants Giannis in Miami, you must hope that Portland/Milwaukee/Boston don't agree to a 3-team PURELY HYPOTHETICAL BUT LOGICAL trade that would easily trump any Miami offer and help all 3 teams. The Celtics, hypothetically, could acquire Antetokounmpo in a three-team trade by sending Brown to Portland, which — as a result of the 2023 Damian Lillard trade — has the right to swap first-round picks with Milwaukee in 2028 and 2030 while also owning the most and least favorable 2029 first of their own, Boston and Milwaukee. The Blazers could remove those protections and offer the Bucks a combination of young players (among Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara) and some of their five tradeable first round picks, which includes Orlando’s unprotected 2028 first-round pick. Boston also could get one of those picks, besides landing Antetokounmpo. Heat would be helpless to prevent that, so Miami needs some luck.
“I think Boston is not only back in but Milwaukee right now is trying to find a third team for Jaylen Brown. It’s very real. Last week, I was preparing my Heat get Giannis story. This morning I started a file about being left at the altar yet again … these things are ever evolving.
When it comes to reporters who are plugged in with the Heat, these are the top 2 in my opinion. If anyone knows what's going on with their front office and where things stand from that side, it's probably them.
So, as a Celtics fan, how do you determine what to put stock into? Could this all just be a leverage play for the Bucks to get even more stuff out of Pat Riley? Maybe. Could these reporters know the deal, and that's why there's been such a sudden swing in how they're talking about this situation? Also maybe. But I will say I do put a little more stock into hearing this type of stuff from those two Heat reporters than any of the national guys, because both Barry Jackson and Ira Winderman are essentially mouthpieces for the Heat's front office. It's hard for me to think both guys are just pulling all of that out of their ass. It's much more likely they are telling us what the Heat front office is currently dealing with/worried about, which means the Giannis/Celts stuff is real.
As to whether they should even do a trade like this? I would just point back to the #1 rule when it comes to this stuff. Trust Brad Stevens.
If he feels like there is a deal that makes sense and makes the team better both in the short and long term, I'd expect him to make the deal, even knowing how painful it might be. If it doesn't, then he won't. If he decides it is the path to go down, we have no reason to doubt his decision. The same way if he decides it isn't the right path, we have to trust that as well.
But the fact that the plugged in Heat media are talking the way they are, it gives you the impression that Brad is actually involved and this might actually be more than just a leverage play.
We'll most likely know in 11 days, so buckle up.