The 2024–25 NBA season isn’t even over, but the offseason chatter is already deafening—louder than a Game 7 crowd at MSG. Talk of blockbuster trades, seismic roster shakeups, and daring front-office plays is everywhere. And at the center of it all? Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak’s potential exit from Milwaukee has set the rumor mill ablaze. But just as fans started dreaming up wild superteam scenarios, one especially tantalizing pairing seems to have been taken off the board.

See, after consecutive early Playoff exits after winning the chip in 2021, Giannis’ time in Wisconsin may be up. And it’s been a mad dash for clubs as they scramble to prepare offers that will persuade the Milwaukee Bucks to part ways with the man who brought the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Milwaukee after 50 years. But according to insider Chris Mannix, this year’s NBA finalists, the Oklahoma City Thunder, are out of that race. Rather, they were never in it to begin with.

“Yeah, I’ve never gotten the sense that Oklahoma City was all that interested in adding a player like Giannis, who is going to gobble up like 35% of their salary cap. Like their strength is their ability to add pieces like an Alex Caruso, like an Isaiah Hartenstein. I just never got the sense Oklahoma City was in play… When I talk to people out there, I never got the sense that they were in play for Giannis, as much as people maybe wanted them to be,” said the Sports Illustrated insider. And thus end our hopes for a Giannis Antetokounmpo-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander team-up.

You see, the Greek Freak draws an exorbitant average annual salary of $58 million. With the Thunder’s projected salary cap of $191 million per Spotrac, signing Giannis probably won’t be the most viable option. Especially as they look to lock down players like Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. They may be on team-friendly salaries now, but if the Thunder win the chip this season, well. That wage bill is going to read like Zion Williamson’s Dunkin Donuts order. So, unfortunately, Mannix’s assessment on the Rich Elsen show may be accurate!

But when one door closes, another opens. And the Thunder may be out of the running for Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s signature. But the winningest team in the NBA may have just entered the race.

Chris Mannix reveals the Boston Celtics might enter the fray as potential Giannis Antetokounmpo suitors

The Boston Celtics didn’t have an ideal end to their season, crashing out in the East’s semifinals at the hands of the New York Knicks. What’s worse is that their talisman, Jayson Tatum, is out for a long time with a torn Achilles a la Kobe Bryant. So what’s a better solution to their woes than bringing in a world-beater like Giannis Antetokounmpo? And this idea may not be entirely off the table, according to Chris Mannix, but it all depends on the cuts Boston makes.

“We don’t know how deep the cuts that Boston is going to make are going to go. The anticipation from other executives is that one or two members of that rotation are going to be traded…But everybody’s kind of wondering. Like with Tatum being gone for next year, will Boston get serious about trading Jalen Brown?” said Mannix. And he poses quite an interesting question.

And the Celtics Wire’s report adds more credence to a potential Giannis to Boston move based on what Mannix said. “Any move for Giannis would likely entail Boston trading away Brown. His contract would be the most logical in terms of salary matching,” says Adam Taylor. And Brown’s $53 million salary for the 2025/26 season isn’t too far off Giannis’. So, trading away Jaylen Brown could make Giannis a viable target for the Celtics.

Mannix and Taylor both reiterated that this trade had little chance of happening. For both parties involved. After all, Giannis hasn’t asked the Bucks for a move yet. And trading the 2024 Finals MVP for someone who’s older and will demand a slightly higher salary sounds more like something Nico Harrison would do. So as things stand, Giannis may just stay put in Milwaukee. But you never know!