The Boston Celtics were in the hunt for the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade until the very end, before losing out to Eastern Conference rivals Miami Heat.
NBA analyst and Celtics fan Bill Simmons has now revealed why the trade fell through at the last minute.
NBA Analyst Reveals Why Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Trade to Boston Celtics Fell Through
The Celtics were determined to land Antetokounmpo and were offering a trade package led by Jaylen Brown. However, the Milwaukee Bucks chose the Heat’s offer in the end, and the Celtics went on to trade Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George and two future first-round draft picks.
Simmons claimed before Antetokounmpo signed off on the Heat trade, he was in talks with the Celtics over a possible extension. He claimed that the 31-year-old would have agreed to join the Celtics had they been willing to give him a three-year extension worth 35% of the salary cap.
However, the Celtics reportedly did not want to make such a commitment and were only willing to give him a two-year extension worth 30% of the cap. In the end, the talks broke down, and Antetokounmpo agreed to join the Heat.
“He didn’t sign off on the Miami trade for a couple of days there. They were talking about extensions with the Celtics. It came down to two years, 30% of the cap or three years, 35%. The Celtics were pretty entrenched at 2-for-30. Giannis wanted the 3-for-35. They couldn’t agree on it. That was when he greenlit the Miami trade,” Simmons said on the “Bill Simmons Podcast.”
Simmons appeared to imply that the Bucks were open to trading Antetokounmpo to the Celtics. However, it was the two-time NBA MVP who turned down the opportunity to join the franchise.
The Antetokounmpo trade speculation seemingly fractured the relationship between the Celtics and Brown. The five-time NBA All-Star spent a decade in Boston and was the team’s top scorer last season. But he was sent to the 76ers in a shocking trade earlier this week.
After missing out on the Antetokounmpo trade, the Celtics also moved to sign Mitchell Robinson from the New York Knicks as a free agent on a three-year, $47.4 million deal. The Celtics picked Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell during the 2026 NBA Draft, and are also signing free agent Mike Conley Jr. on a one-year contract.
