The 2013 trade between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets was one of the biggest moves that season. At the time the Nets were looking to add veterans and go all in for a championship run. That plan failed miserably and they’re now one of the worst teams in the league. The Celtics traded away long time Celtic, Paul Pierce, and the heart and soul of the team, Kevin Garnett, for expiring contracts. The Celtics realized it was time to rebuild and start a new brand of Celtics’ basketball after their great run they had with the ‘Big 3’.
The Nets figured they would be in the playoff hunt, or at least decent, for a while after making that trade and traded away 4 draft picks. The Celtics received the Nets 2014, 2016 and 2018 NBA draft picks, and the right to swap 2017 picks, which they will probably do. The Celtics drafted James Young, who recently got sent to the D-League, with the Nets 2014 draft pick.
The question now is whether to keep the Nets’ pick this year or try to trade it for a proven veteran.
At the beginning of the season, there were rumors that the Celtics might try to trade for DeMarcus Cousins, something I would be in favor of. Cousins is one of the most talented big men in the league. His offensive game is as polished as anyone’s as he averages 26.1 points per game (fourth in the NBA). He is also dominant on the boards as he grabs 11.4 rebounds per game (fourth in the NBA). He does not get as much recognition as he deserves because he is on the Sacramento Kings and his history with coaches, however, he is arguably the best big man in the league.
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That rumor has sadly evaporated and now there are rumors that they may trade for Brook Lopez of the Brooklyn Nets or Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Pelicans. At that point I think it would be better to keep the pick and take a chance in the draft.
At the moment, the Nets would hold the third overall selection, if the lottery stayed in form. That means that Ben Simmons, phenom freshman from LSU, will not be available most likely. However, there are still other prospects that could turn into solid cornerstone pieces for a franchise, despite the general opinion of it being a weak draft. The draft is very top-heavy and does involve some prospects that could become very good NBA players. I don’t see the Nets falling out of the bottom five of the league this season either.
Yes, all rookies are a crap shoot and risky. When looking at rookies this year, however, you can see how big of an impact some rookies have made for their teams. Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Devin Booker are already some of the best players on their teams and are making an impact every night. They have made huge strides during the first half of the season and seem to be players you can build around.
The Celtics are a deep team and have a lot of solid pieces. Although when it comes down to it, Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas aren’t superstars. Both of them are huge pieces to the Celtics’ future, but neither should be the team’s best player. Having Thomas be the sidekick on offense would give the Celtics one of the deadliest offensive duos in the league. Crowder’s defensive ability would give a potential star, if a wing player, the option to not guard the best player every night and save his legs for the offensive end.
Every contending team needs a star, and that’s what Boston is missing. Cousins would have given the Celtics that missing piece, but now they should try to find it through the draft. They will most likely get the Nets next 3 picks, all being in the top 10 most likely.
Boston doesn’t have the pieces to win a championship yet, but they are getting close. They’re still missing a couple more pieces, besides a true superstar, until they can be considered one of the top teams. Drafting a top prospect and letting him develop for a couple of seasons could do the trick for this team.
Adding someone like Ryan Anderson or Brook Lopez may add more stability to your front court this season but in the overall picture it’s not putting you closer to a championship. It may help the Celtics climb up to a six seed this season and possibly win a series in the playoffs but that’s nothing special.
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When you are picking as high as the Celtics seemingly will, you have a good chance of striking gold. Boston also won’t have the opportunity to draft near the top-10 for a while, unless keeping the Nets’ picks. Right now, the Celtics are a middle of the road team and that is the hardest spot to rebuild a team. They would need to attract a big name free agent, which is possible, but why not also try to draft your next franchise player? Unless a true superstar becomes available I would keep the pick.