If the Heat had it their way, the Milwaukee Bucks would've already agreed to send Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami by now. As things stand, they still seem to be the frontrunners, but the Celtics are also a team that the superstar is very much interested in. As Jake Fischer of The Stein Line wrote on Thursday, you can't rule out Boston (subscription required).
Yet there have undeniably been rumbles throughout the week that Boston, at the very least, has to be monitored here.
The Celtics would have to part with Jaylen Brown to make a trade happen, and, as Fischer added, that's not something that can be eliminated:
Those same sources likewise insist that the Celtics have yet to engage in any meaningful trade conversation this spring involving Jaylen Brown after Brown's tremendous 2025-26 campaign … but it also hasn't been categorically dismissed as a possibility.
If Boston made Brown available, his inclusion in a package could help give Milwaukee what it wants, even if it meant him being rerouted to another team, which is probably what would happen. As for Giannis, he'd have a better chance at winning another ring with the Celtics versus the Heat.
Miami would love nothing more than for the Boston chatter to cease entirely, but the only way that will happen is if Antetokounmpo makes it known he doesn't want to go to the Celtics. Why would he do that?
Celtics are the Heat's biggest threat to a Giannis trade
If a trade came down to Antetokounmpo going to Miami or Boston, and he had the final say, it's hard to envision him doing anything other than going with the Celtics. Playing alongside Jayson Tatum under Joe Mazzulla would be hard to pass up in that scenario.
Boston has to be the one to make that call, though. It's not an easy one to make because it'd mean losing Brown, but that's something you have to think about when a player like Antetokounmpo is on the table. That reason alone is probably why there is still ongoing buzz about the Celtics. Knowing he wants to be there certainly means something.
What Boston does or doesn't do will need to be decided relatively soon, as Milwaukee wants this whole thing resolved before the draft, which is less than two weeks away.
The Bucks have held out on doing something, thinking maybe the Knicks would follow up with their interest, depending on how the NBA Finals go, but it turns out, the time could sway Boston to act.
Miami wants to see Brown back in a Celtics jersey next season, probably just as much as it'd like to see Giannis in a Heat jersey.
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