According to a new report from Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Boston Celtics could be interested in Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason. He mentioned them as a "possible suitor."

Now, this shouldn't really come as a revolutionary idea. Antetokounmpo is one of the most dynamic players in the league, and if he becomes available, every team should be interested in at least having a conversation about acquiring him.

The questions really become: How available is he actually, what would it cost, and should the Celtics be interested in paying that cost?

Those are all questions for Brad Stevens to think about over the offseason.

Well, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks appear to be in a bit of a bad place. First off, the team has struggled mightily this year. At 31-48, they've been eliminated from the playoff race, ending a streak of eight consecutive years in the playoffs.

Furthermore, Milwaukee has seen its win total decrease each of the last three seasons since winning 58 games in 2022-23.

Part of the reason for that? Antetokounmpo has spent some injured, playing 67 games or less in six of the last seven regular seasons. He's played just 36 in this campaign, averaging 27.6 ppg and 9.8 rebounds.

He also missed the 2023-24 playoffs because of injury as the No. 1 Bucks were beaten by the No. 8 Miami Heat.

Furthermore, the Bucks have taken big swings on the trade market, inflating their payroll with the likes of Damian Lillard and Myles Turner, only to see those moves not work out. Milwaukee has an aging and expensive roster, and they also don't have many draft picks. For them, the only way out of this might to move on from Antetokounmpo.

The frustration seems to have grown in recent weeks as Antetokounmpo claims he's healthy enough to play, but the Bucks won't play him.

Antetokounmpo is under contract for one more guaranteed season at more than $58 million. He has a player option for 2027-28.

Because Antetokounmpo is owed so much money, the Celtics would have to move significant salary to even out the deal, in addition to sending over multiple draft picks.

The Celtics won't move Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown in a deal for Antetokounmpo, so they'd have to get creative with the rest of their roster. One run through the ESPN trade machine shows that Derrick White ($28 million) and Sam Hauser ($10 million) would make the deal work financially, but is that even worth it for a player with only one guaranteed year left? White and Payton Pritchard also work, but the same questions persist.

UPDATE: The Spotrac simulator says that those deals are not enough, and requires the Celtics send out all three of them at once, plus a smaller role player. That is, if you want to avoid sending out Brown or Tatum. 

The Celtics will look to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs when they take on the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

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