Bills Simmons reveals the 5% reason the Celtics didn't trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo

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Bills Simmons reveals the 5% reason the Celtics didn't trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Celtics, according to superfan and NBA analyst Bill Simmons, were really close to completing a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Of course, that's not what happened.

Giannis got traded by the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat.

The Celtics subsequently traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and draft picks.

But as Simmons tells it, it didn't have to be this way.

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Simmons said on his latest podcast episode that Antetokounmpo wanted a three-year contract extension worth 35% of the salary cap, and that the Celtics wouldn't budge off the idea of giving him a two-year extension worth 30% of the cap.

Wow.

Per: @BillSimmons

Giannis was about to sign off on the Celtics trade, but he wanted a 3 year extension at 35% of the cap but Boston was set on 2 years at 30%.

Brad Stevens would budge on the extension and that’s when he approved the trade to Miami.

Unreal. pic.twitter.com/yKZqqlUnnK

— Savage (@Savageboston) July 2, 2026

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Previous reports have indicated that the Celtics were prepared to trade Brown and two first-round picks for Giannis.

The implication of Simmons is that the Bucks liked that package, but that Antetokounmpo wasn't ready to go to Boston without the proper extension lined up.

Whether that's fully accurate or not, it's a fascinating twist to this tale. Could the Celtics themselves be the reason they didn't get Giannis to Boston? It sure seems like that might be the case.

More NBA news:​

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• How Heat can unite Giannis with his brothers
• Knicks had a superstar opportunity but didn't go for it
• Giannis legacy with the Bucks remains intact
• Quentin Grimes proves where Jonathan Kuminga went wrong

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