NBA Insider Urges Celtics To Avoid Giannis Antetokounmpo-Jaylen Brown Swap For This Reason originally appeared on NESN.
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The Boston Celtics have been linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo in trade rumors, but swapping him for Jaylen Brown may not be too wise.
Any trade that nets the Celtics Antetokounmpo would have to part ways with Jaylen Brown. Whether they would be sending Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks or a third team, for the Celtics, it would essentially mean swapping Brown for Antetokounmpo. While Antetokounmpo is clearly a better player, NBA insider Chris Mannix thinks it would not be wise for the Celtics to swap him for Brown straight up.
“I would not trade Jaylen Brown for Giannis straight up. I wouldn’t do it,” Mannix recently said on NBC Sports Boston. “Giannis is too unpredictable. These soft tissue injuries would terrify me. He’s 31 years old, looking for a max contract, coming off his history of injuries. The injury history of Giannis would scare the crap out of me.”
Mannix isn’t saying Antetokounmpo would not help the Celtics, but he’s saying the risk that comes with him is too high to part with Brown and only get Antetokounmpo in return.
NBA insider Jake Fischer has noted that the Bucks would be more interested in passing Brown along to another team instead of building around him and his contract. If it takes a three-team deal to get Antetokounmpo in Boston, Mannix may suggest the Celtics try to land some assets from the third team as well.
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