Bucks Near-Trade Would Have Caused Ripple Effects for the Celtics

The Bucks had an offer on the table to get Bradley Beal. If Beal had said yes, where would the Celtics be?

Jayson Tatum, Khris Middleton / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

A lot of moving parts go into a championship run. It goes beyond a team's best players. It also depends on the coach, supporting cast, team health, etc. The Celtics had all of the elements of a title team, and that's how they won a title, but another factor is trades that almost came to be that could have changed everything.

As it turns out, one almost-trade could have changed a lot for the Celtics. Suns guard Bradley Beal admitted during his appearance on "Run Your Race" that, back when he was on the trade market in 2023, the Bucks were offering Khris Middleton to the Wizards for him. Beal explained why he passed.

Bradley Beal said on @TidalLeague the Bucks were willing to trade Khris Middleton to the Wizards, but he didn’t feel comfortable signing off.

Middleton would’ve been re-routed to another contender from Washington.

A massive domino effect that impacted multiple teams’ futures. pic.twitter.com/rHqAuCQTmu

— Evan Sidery (@esidery) October 8, 2024

Beal had (and still has) a no-trade clause, meaning he had a say in where he could be traded to. In the end, he chose Phoenix.

However, had Beal agreed to a trade to Milwaukee, it would have caused major ripple effects on that offseason as a whole, and yes, those effects would have involved the Celtics.

First, acquiring Beal for Middleton would have meant the Bucks wouldn't have had any need for Damian Lillard as Beal would have been designated as the Bucks' secondary scorer behind Giannis Antetokounmpo.

With Beal instead of Lillard, that means Jrue Holiday would not have been traded to Portland, which means the Celtics would never have gotten the chance to trade for him. They may have had to go into the season with Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III still on the team. Knowing how many injuries those two have suffered over the past year, Boston's foundation would have become much flimsier.

Now that doesn't necessarily mean the Celtics would not have won without Holiday, but knowing all the holes he filled for them with Marcus Smart's departure, their odds would not have been nearly as high.

But wait, there's more. The Bucks not getting Lillard also would have made it more likely that Portland would have granted Lillard's original wish of going to Miami since their biggest competitor for his services would have no longer been in the picture.

Miami adding Lillard after their surprise run to the finals in 2023 could have made things even more interesting in the Eastern Conference. At times, they've proven to be Boston's kryptonite and Lillard could have made that all the worse.

So, in summation, had Beal said yes to Milwaukee, the Celtics could have gotten worse while the Bucks and Heat may have gotten better. In other words, there's a fair argument that the Celtics owe a fair amount of their good fortune over the past year to Bradley Beal and his no-trade clause.