Celtics, Lakers could battle for Giannis Antetokounmpo in shocking NBA rumor originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have found themselves in some riveting battles through the years.

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How about an offseason showdown for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

That could be coming. The Athletic’s Sam Amick makes it sound like a large swath of the league will be going after the Greek Freak if the Milwaukee Bucks do indeed decide to trade him this offseason.

And in his new report on Wednesday, Amick references both the Lakers and Celtics.

“What about the Houston Rockets, who signaled a disinterest in pairing Antetokounmpo with Kevin Durant in February but might change their stance if they get eliminated early?” writes Amick. “Ditto for the San Antonio Spurs … or the Los Angeles Lakers … or the Atlanta Hawks. Even the Celtics, who have the ‘Two Jays’ back now and look fully capable of winning it all, are known to have interest and are discussed in league circles as possible suitors.”

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Amick also writes that the Heat, Warriors, Timberwolves, Knicks and Magic could be involved. Clearly, this will be a complicated setup for the Bucks to sort through.

It also means it’s by no means a given that the Celtics or Lakers are the team that ends up with Giannis.

But could you imagine Antetokounmpo with one of those historic franchises? In L.A., he’d pair with Luka Doncic. In Boston, it’d be fascinating to see how the Celtics would pull off a trade in hopes of having Giannis with both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

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Neither of those teams has quite the asset base as some of the other interested parties — unless Brown becomes available.

Still, just the mere mention of these historic franchises alongside Antetokounmpo trade rumors is a big deal. It means there’s at least a bit of a chance of something happening that would shake up the entire landscape of the NBA.

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