Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The NBA offseason heats up as the Celtics grow impatient over Giannis trade talks, OKC considers moving Lu Dort, and Dallas commits to Kyrie Irving.
- Boston grows frustrated with slow Giannis talks. OKC looks to trade Lu Dort for cap relief, and Dallas commits to pairing Kyrie Irving with Cooper Flagg.
- These moves will reshape major rosters, dictate crucial luxury tax strategy, and directly impact rookie development ahead of the upcoming NBA Draft.
Whew, who knew trading a star player like Giannis Antetokounmpo would be this much of a task. It’s getting so convoluted at this point that even the Boston Celtics are getting fed up with the process. Early rumblings of a possible Jaylen Brown trade for Giannis started soon after Boston’s season ended. At first, it was just rumors, and then speculation turned into a real possibility. The Antetokounmpo sweepstakes has boiled down to the Miami Heat and the Celtics. You can’t blame Milwaukee for trying to squeeze as much out of a Giannis deal as they can.
According to Hoops Hype, a league source said that Boston has said any “Brown to third team talk” is premature. This would explain Boston’s frustration as they were trying to get a deal done between the two teams and not want or need to involve a third team. They also thought dangling Brown would be an intriguing enough player that Milwaukee wouldn’t feel the need to be very aggressive in any deal.
This has gotten dragged out quite a bit, but you also have to take into account it’s still fairly early into the offseason. Ideally a deal gets done before the NBA Draft. That would almost certainly mean Giannis is headed to the Heat in a blockbuster deal. If he’s still in Milwaukee, that most likely means the Bucks are trying to finalize a deal for Brown. It doesn’t feel like any new teams are in serious contention, which again is something Boston has every right to be irritated by.
We’ll see what happens over the next few days with the NBA Draft next Thursday. I’m willing to bet a deal will get done by then and I think the Bucks are going to see just how valuable Brown is and not pass up on him.
OKC Thunder could be shopping key forward to save cap space
Lou Dort could be a name to watch this offseason as Oklahoma City is looking to save some salary cap space, per The Athletic. The Thunder don’t need a whole lot, but if they’re going to potentially lose Dort, that’s not ideal. He’s due $17.7 million, and the Thunder are projected to be $40 million over the luxury tax line. If the Thunder ultimately decide to trade him, he shouldn’t be nearly as hard to move as Giannis has been.
If the Celtics trade Brown, Dort could be a great replacement, as he’s a solid defender and can hit the 3-point shot, which is essentially Boston’s entire philosophy. While he does have this reputation for being a dirty player, he has proven he can ethically defend the best perimeter threats. OKC is starting to face the same reality that Boston did after they won their championship. They wanted to retain their top stars they drafted, and it’s pushing into the tax aprons.
It will be interesting to see where Dort ultimately lands this offseason. I doubt the Thunder are interested in keeping Dort in the Western Conference, but they might not have a choice depending on his interest. I could potentially even see the Detroit Pistons looking at trading for him as well.
Kyrie Irving not expected to be traded this offseason
Kyrie Irving missed the entire 2025-26 season as he was recovering from a torn ACL, which he suffered at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Dallas Mavericks drafted Cooper Flagg with the idea that Irving and Flagg were going to be the core Flagg started with. According to Marc J. Spears, Hoops Hype said the Mavericks' ownership is committed to seeing Irving and Flagg together for now.
This is the smart move, as Flagg was primarily the point guard for this team, and they need a true guard. With Irving running this offense that would help Flagg truly develop into the elite prospect the Mavericks expect him to be. Though they traded Luka Doncic, this team has the potential to still be good.
The Mavericks need to see what Irving and Flagg will look like together before orchestrating a trade for Irving. They aren’t in a significant cap bind and after trading both Doncic and then Anthony Davis so they could see it through with Irving until it fails. For them to abandon having Irving paired with Flagg before it even gets a chance to have some potential would be unfair to Irving, Flagg and the fan base.
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