Boston Celtics: 2 trade packages for Utah Jazz All-Star Rudy Gobert
By Mark Nilon
Draft Picks Galore
**Graphic doesn’t show Utah Jazz receiving Enes Kanter, Vincent Poirier and Grant Williams**
Over the years, the Boston Celtics have accumulated an obscene amount of draft capital that fans, often, have hoped would turn into an already established star in the league via trade. To this point, Danny Ainge has been reluctant to dish out his assets.
In his defense, however, two of these aforementioned picks wound up turning into franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum and arguable All-Star snub Jaylen Brown. Still, the other 10 picks they’ve held the rights to over the years have not turned into anything of note, thus leaving some coming down with a sever case of the “what ifs.”
Heading into this year’s draft the C’s currently hold the rights to three separate picks: the Memphis Grizzlies’ (projected at 16), their own (projected at 26) and the Milwaukee Bucks’ (projected at 30).
With the likelihood being that the C’s will be targeting front court help in the draft anyway, might it be wise to just package some of these selections in a deal to acquire what we fans have been begging for all these years: an already established star?
Prior to the league’s suspension, Gobert was in the midst of a very successful season with the Jazz, registering 15.1 points, 13.7 rebounds and two blocks per game on 70 percent shooting from the field. With his play the French native was selected to his first All-Star appearance and, alongside fellow All-Star Donovan Mitchell, had Utah in the fourth seed out West with a record of 41-23.
The 2x Defensive Player of the Year and 3x NBA All-Defensive First Team selection would be a true luxury to have for this C’s team that has been in need of a dominant presence at the five all season, and should still be in need of one next season. His skill-set fits perfectly with the current state of their roster and would easily make themselves favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals next season.
The hardest thing about this trade for Boston would be giving up Romeo Langford before they were truly able to get a full evaluation of his potential. However, with the fact that the team is already chock full of wing depth, the impact of his departure would be minor.