Former Champion Wants Jaylen Brown to Take Celtics’ Offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo as Compliment

It was reported that Jaylen Brown was included in Boston's trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Former Champion Wants Jaylen Brown to Take Celtics’ Offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo as Compliment

Richard Jefferson on Jaylen Brown (Image credits - Firstsportz)

The trade saga surrounding Giannis Antetoukounmpo for a year has finally come to an end on Monday. After a difficult 2025-26 campaign, Antetoukounmpo has finally been traded to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-round pick.

However, there were other clubs in the race to sign the Greek forward as well. One of them was Boston Celtics. It was also reported that Jaylen Brown was included in Celtics’ trade package for Antetokounmpo.

Former NBA champion Richard Jefferson spoke about how Brown would be feeling when his name came up in trade talks twice.

Hopefully he is feeling relieved. You were the most valuable player they could have offered for Giannis. If you’re Jaylen Brown, that’s a compliment. That is a compliment in these spaces where you and Giannis are in the same space.

Richard Jefferson on SportsCenter

It was about time that Giannis Antetokounmpo made his departure from the Milwaukee Bucks. Multiple clubs were interested in his services, but the Greek superstar has been rumored to be traded to the Heat for a while now.

Meanwhile, this is the second time in the last few years that Jaylen Brown has been linked to a move. After an MVP-caliber season, Brown would have been surprised to see his name in a trade package for Antetokounmpo. The Celtics forward expressed that he was committed to the Celtics for the next 10 years if it was up to him.

However, despite being linked to an exit, Richard Jefferson believed that Brown should take it as a compliment as he is viewed as a valuable player. While it is unfortunate that the club were looking to end ties with him, that is the nature of the business in the NBA.

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Bucks owner had one concern about Jaylen Brown-led package for Giannis Antetokounmpo

There is no doubt that Jaylen Brown has established himself as one of the best two-way players in the NBA after the season he just had. Without Jayson Tatum for the majority of the season, he led the Celtics to a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference standings.

Jaylen Brown guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jaylen Brown guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo (Image credits – HITC)

However, Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam was reluctant to acquire Brown because of concerns over his long-term future in Milwaukee.

Sources say Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam was a driving force in taking the Heat deal for Giannis over Boston’s offer. Haslam didn’t want to risk Jaylen Brown wanting out of Milwaukee in a year after dealing with Giannis and Myles Garrett trade demands. Haslam wanted certainty, and the Miami deal provided more of that with more total assets in return to Milwaukee.

While Brown may have been the most valuable asset among all Bucks’ options, it is understandable why Haslam did not accept it. He is thinking long-term and looking to rebuild the roster from scratch after trading away his franchise player.

Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted Anthony Edwards in Milwaukee

Over the last two years, Anthony Edwards has grown into one of the best players in the league and has shown himself to be an elite performer in the postseason. During the whole trade saga, Antetokounmpo had often expressed his desire to stay in Milwaukee.

NBA insider Chris Haynes revealed that the 31-year-old told the Bucks that he would stay in Milwaukee long-term if they brought in Edwards.

Unfortunately, the Bucks were not able to pull it off. The Wolves would have asked for a lot of assets as Edwards is in the prime of his career and is the face of their franchise. In the end, Antetokounmpo will be starting a new life in Miami.

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