The Boston Celtics reportedly almost went another direction with Jaylen Brown this summer. Per ESPN's Anthony Slater, Boston called Golden State ahead of the draft and dangled Brown in trade talks in hopes of getting more draft capital. They wanted to pair those picks with their own to pitch the Milwaukee Bucks on a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade package.
While that could have been tempting, the offer still would have lacked what the Milwaukee Bucks made clear they wanted all along: a blue-chip prospect.
Bucks wanted players AND picks
From the moment Giannis rumors started swirling, Milwaukee's front office made it clear that they wanted an up-and-coming talent and draft capital. Even if Boston offered all of their picks and the ones they could have gotten from Golden State, a deal would have lacked such on-court talent to give the Bucks the peace they needed to do this.
Boston had such talent in Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman, but during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN's Shams Charania said the Celtics did not want to include either player. Even with all of those picks, it would have been surprising to see the Milwaukee Bucks budge without even one potential-filled player included in the deal.
Shams Says This Report Is Not True:
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) July 16, 2026
“That’s not true, the breakdown with the Giannis, Boston conversations was very simple. The Celtics did not want to give up Hugo Gonzalez and/or Baylor Scheierman and another draft asset.”
Never Listen To Bill Simmons 👎🏻 https://t.co/A32KfSL9qC pic.twitter.com/CIiYOwVAn2
Bucks went with the right offer
While all of those picks or a deal centered around Jaylen Brown could have been interesting for the Milwaukee Bucks, they took the right gamble. Miami's offer featured an assortment of both draft and player-focused assets to give Milwaukee a foundation to begin a rebuild while also aiming to remain as competitive as possible for the foreseeable future.
It was likely the fact that Milwaukee netted four players in this deal that got it over the finish line. Tyler Herro is an All-Star talent. Jaime Jaquez Jr. is a Sixth Man of the Year runner-up. Kel'el Ware is young but has no ceiling right now. Kasparas Jakucionis is raw but has shown flashes of being a big-time point guard thanks to his Swiss Army Knife tendencies.
Even if the Celtics acquired all those picks from Golden State, the player portion of the package likely would have been just salary filler. It was smarter to take players who have shown some level of upside already rather than banking on future unknowns. Time will tell if the gamble pays off, but the Bucks are justified in taking the Heat deal over what the Celtics potentially could have put together.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.
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