The price of Giannis is upsetting the status quo

That's not a problem for Miami, lords of the play-in. It's a different story for Boston.

Good morning. We're one day away from the NBA Draft. Let's basketball.

If the Celtics actually give up Jaylen Brown in a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, a better player who is older, has a lengthier injury history and whose fits with the remaining Boston roster is unknown compared to that of Brown, what's the real price? Yes, it's Brown and whoever else the Celtics concede – Payton Pritchard is being rumored, and that'd be a tough pill to swallow because he'd be a perfect fit next to Giannis, mostly because he's a perfect fit next to everyone. But go deeper one tick: what's the real price? Stability. Confidence. Familiarity. Trading Brown for even a great player like Giannis would mean giving up something you know works extremely well in exchange for something you hope works two clicks better.

That's terrifying, and the uncertainty should make the Celtics very hesitant to give up much else. Here's the rub, though: the team with Brown and no Jayson Tatum performed extremely well until the playoffs, where they even had a recovering Tatum. If they can hold onto Pritchard, Derrick White and keep or replace some role players, even getting little from Giannis but have Tatum closer to his pre-injury self could still have Boston near the top of the conference. Antetokounmpo hasn't been healthy for many playoff runs of late, but if he is? Him and Tatum? That's world-beating stuff. That's immeasurable upside. That's an opponent everyone, even the Knicks, would fear.

Teams that have been mediocre or bad or just blah for a while are happy to trade for uncertainty. The Miami Heat fit that bill. Future generations will be blown away that the Heat made two Finals series (and counting) in the 2020s. It's them and Boston who have done that: no one else (so far). The Heat are only No. 9 in regular season win percentage since the 2019-20 season, but they are one of two teams that have won multiple conference titles this decade. They are fourth in playoff wins this decade, only one behind New York ... and yet they've been in the East play-in tournament for five straight years.