It did feel like this was setting the stage for a Giannis trade and trying to get the fanbase to understand why they wanted to trade JB for him. When that fell through they had no plan B clearly.
I think our offense will be the same but maybe with some more rim running from Robinson and Queta. More offensive boards but think that may lead to more 3s actually.
It did seem for a moment in time that the Celtics were going to get Giannis and that we'd be starting this season with 2 top 5 (top 7) NBA players in the starting lineup. Of course there'd be naysayers claiming that our team's future is reliant on an injury prone Giannis. But other chips probably would have fallen in our favor had they got Giannis and we'd undoubtedly be one of the top three favorites to win it all.
If it is true, something I neither fully believe or dismiss, that Brad could have had GA by sending Hugo or Baylor (or both) - then that was either a colossal mistake, or Brad has some seriously high expectations for these two - or one of them.
I won't defend the Sixers trade, nor let Brad off the hook entirely for botching the negotiations with the Bucks for Giannis, but here's a potential scenario for how this went down.
And Neurotic Guy, I see that you say you neither fully believe or dismiss the Baylor/Hugo story, so I'm not trying to contradict you here. I'm just laying out a scenario in general about this potential offer that never happened.
According to Shams the Celtics were offering:
-Jaylen Brown
-2026 1st Round Pick (pick made by Celts and sent to Bucks)
-2027 1st Round Pick (probably between 27-30 if Giannis is a success here)
That's where things get uncomfortable. These two 1st rounders are most likely both going be between #27 - #30. Not very attractive.
And because of the Jrue Holiday trade the Celtics owe Portland a '29 1st rounder, meaning their next available 1st rounder they can trade isn't until 2031 due to the Stepien Rule. That would be six drafts into the future, and the Bucks' GM may not even be there then.
Brad knew those two first rounders in his initial offer weren't great. So he was
probably willing to throw in:
-Baylor
or Hugo
-Pick-swap in 2028 (which probably wouldn't convey based on team projections)
-Pick-swap in 2030 (too far in the future to move the needle for this Bucks' GM)
But most savvy negotiators hold out until the last moment on your true best-and-last offer. Why overpay if you don't have to?
And Brad probably looked at the pu-pu platter that the Heat were offering and thought Jaylen, plus two picks, was at the very least equivalent. The Bucks could always trade Jaylen later if they wanted and get a few 1st rounders (in theory, back then at least).
So he very well might have said "Here's our best offer" knowing that
Miami had nothing else to add, the Heat's offer was maxed out.
Brad probably sat there waiting for the Bucks to call back one more time and say "Ok, final chance, add Baylor or Hugo and a pick swap or we're moving on to the Heat."
And Brad probably would have done it. But the Bucks never called back. Brad's bluff blew up in his face, they believed him when he said "This is our best offer."
You have to know who you're negotiating with. The Bucks' front office may not have understood the "hail mary last offer" ploy. So Brad was gobsmacked that they took the Heat's offer.
So I won't say definitively that "Brad refused to give up Baylor or Hugo." There's a greater than zero percent chance that's not true. In fact I'd say it's almost assuredly not true. He just didn't expect the Bucks to give up when they did.
