Here's What Bucks Wanted From Celtics In Antetokounmpo Trade Talks (report)

Here's what Bucks wanted from Celtics in Antetokounmpo trade talks (Report) originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Miami Heat late Monday night for a massive package of players and draft picks.

The Boston Celtics were reportedly the favorite to land the two-time NBA MVP, but the Bucks ultimately went with the Heat’s offer instead.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday night that Boston’s offer consisted of All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown and two unprotected first-round picks.

It wasn’t enough to move the needle for the Bucks. They wanted a lot more than that.

“The Bucks wanted more assets,” Sharania said on SportsCenter. “They wanted a couple of young players —Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, potentially others —and they wanted more first-round picks, more swaps. Was there a middle ground to be had? My understanding is the Celtics were not willing to part with enough young players and assets to get a deal done.”

Celtics fans waking up to the news of Antetokounmpo going to Miami instead of Boston might cause some frustration, but the Celtics were wise to draw the line where they did. Brown is a much, much better player than anyone the Heat gave up in their package. Hugo Gonzalez is a better talent than any of the young players Miami offered.

Giving up Brown, Gonzalez, Scheierman and a bunch of unprotected first-round picks and swaps would have been way too much for Boston to surrender. That kind of deal also would have depleted the Celtics’ assets and made it pretty tough to build enough depth around Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum.

Now the question is what will the Celtics do with Brown. Do they look for a different deal involving Brown, or do they bring him back and try to win another championship with him and Tatum leading the way?

It should be a busy and exciting Tuesday with the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.