NBA rumors: The $275 million X-factor behind Celtics’ Giannis Antetokounmpo trade pursuit

As rumors will continue surrounding Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in the offseason, one team that has emerged as a supposed real threat is the Boston Celtics. While the Miami Heat have been linked to Antetokounmpo and seen as the favorites, the Celtics have been a team to be a real contender, and a contract could be behind a potential pursuit.

According to Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic, they say that if the Milwaukee superstar were “willing to sign the four-year, $275 million extension,” then Boston poses a “serious threat to the Heat’s pursuit.” ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel would discuss a potential trade with the Celtics that includes Jaylen Brown, which The Athletic also mentions as a possibility.

“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,” Amick and Nehm wrote. “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.”

The thinking from Giannis Antetokounmpo on select teams  

It has been said for a long time that the Heat are the favorites to land Antetokounmpo, but the smoke has grown with the Celtics being attached. Amick and Nehm would note how Antetokounmpo has “known intrigue” and could have “concerns” about Miami’s roster after making the move.

“It’s unclear if the market beyond Miami is surprisingly soft, so to speak, or if some teams are waiting until Milwaukee gets closer to its self-administered deadline to be more forthcoming about their true level of interest,” Amick and Nehm wrote. “But as The Athletic has reported for months now, Antetokounmpo’s known intrigue with the Celtics, coupled with his concerns about how thin the Heat roster might be if he makes the Miami move, makes them worth watching here.”

At any rate, it remains to be seen if the Celtics, the Heat, or any other team acquires Antetokounmpo.

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