Unfortunately for Celtics fans, a favorite player of ours will need to go to free up space for Gordon Hayward.
There were extra fireworks in the city of Boston on the 4th of July, as Gordon Hayward decided to reunite with his old college coach Brad Stevens on the Celtics. Hayward is coming off a career year in Utah, making his first all star team, but wanted to play in a better situation with Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford and the rest of the Celtics impressive roster.
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Hayward will sign for a max contract, but the Celtics don’t quite have that cap space quite yet since the salary cap didn’t rise the way it was expected to. This means that Boston will have to trade away one of their more important players. Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, and Avery Bradley are the players with salaries that will give the Celtics the necessary cap room to fit Hayward if they’re dealt.
While it’ll hurt to see any one of these three players go, it is necessary for the franchise to take a step forward in their pursuit of a championship. There are reasons for each player to be the one to go, but Bradley is unfortunately the one that needs to be traded.
Contracts
Bradley and Smart will be free agents after next season, and the Celtics will likely have to part with one of them to stay away from a ridiculously large luxury tax bill. Crowder on the other hand is signed until the summer of 2020 on a team friendly contract that has allowed them to build such a deep roster.
If the Celtics trade Crowder, they will be losing an impactful player on a bargain contract, only to lose one of Bradley and Smart anyway the following summer. Bradley is great, but I’d rather lose one important role player than two.
Smart and Crowder’s Versatility
Bradley is an elite perimeter defender, and makes like miserable for opposing guards. However, he isn’t that versatile of a defender. He can handle both guard positions, but struggles with bigger small forwards and wings.
Smart and Crowder on the other hand are Boston’s two most versatile defenders. Each can guard up to four different spots on the floor, and are the keys to the Celtics effective small ball lineups. Taking away one of them is not ideal considering the money complications that trading Crowder would create.
Replacements
While the Celtics won’t be able to find a player that can play the type of perimeter defense Bradley can, they at least have someone that can provide similar production in his place. If the Celtics trade Smart or Crowder, who replaces them?
Nobody on the Celtics roster can replace Smart’s intangibles and ability to lead the second unit. While Semi Ojeleye has a similar skill set to Crowder, it’s not a guarantee that Boston finds a player similar right away.
Jaylen Brown made 20 starts for the Celtics, and most of them were at shooting guard in place of the injured Bradley. Coming in to his second season, Brown could become the full time starter next to Thomas and provide defensive versatility and outside shooting. It could also help his development towards becoming the all star we expect him to be.
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It’ll hurt to see Bradley go. He made so many great plays as a Celtic on both ends of the floor, and will be remembered as one of the pioneers of the current team. But for the Celtics to take their step forward by adding Hayward, they need to trade Bradley elsewhere to give themselves their best chance at winning now and sustaining a talented roster.