Shams: Boston Celtics had interest, made a call about Giannis trade
"There were conversations, some teams more than other teams," said Charania.
Are the Boston Celtics interested in trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo? It depends on who you ask -- and what 'interested' means in this case. Not long after The Stein Line reporter Jake Fischer threw some cold water on reports Boston had interest in dealing for the oft-injured disgruntled Bucks star, ESPN senior reporter Shams Charania has the Celtics as among "the teams that had interest in Giannis at the (2026 NBA trade) deadline.
" "There were conversations, some teams more than other teams," continued Charania. "You think about teams like (the) Miami (Heat) and Minnesota (Timberwolves), those were more extensive conversations. Those were more back-and-forth engagement conversations.
" "Then you have teams like (the) Cleveland (Cavaliers) and the (Los Angeles) Lakers and the Celtics that checked and the (New York) Knicks that checked in, that had interest," added the ESPN reporter. "There were some conversations on concepts, but the Celtics did check in, they did make a call, they did have a level of interest and I think that is going to continue into this off season," suggested Charania. "But they've never gotten into the particulars because it takes two to tango.
" "You're not just going to offer up a player that it might take to get a deal done without there being interest from the other side. So those are all things to be determined. " Given Boston President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens' tendency to move in silence, we do not expect this to be a focal point of he Celtics offseason.