The Boston Celtics could use an All-Star starting center and it appears now, more than, ever one could be available for a relative bargain in Rudy Gobert.
The Boston Celtics’ — along with the rest of the NBA — season was officially suspended on March 11th due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Right before tip-off between the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder it was announced that the league’s regular season was to be suspended indefinitely after one of Utah’s players tested positive for the Coronavirus.
Of all the players in the association, All-Star Jazz center Rudy Gobert was the first to reportedly be diagnosed with the virus, thus making Adam Silver step into action and do what was right for the association; so he shut it down.
This was quite an ironic turn of events for Gobert for, not two days prior, he was seen making light of the virus by lightly touching everything in sight at a post-game press conference.
Since his diagnosis, 13 others have reportedly contracted the virus, one of which being Gobert’s own teammate, and fellow All-Star, Donovan Mitchell.
Now approximately a month since the league’s hiatus began reports have surfaced that players on the Utah Jazz are ticked off — and, rightly so — with Gobert for his childish antics, with one going as far to say that Mitchell is reportedly “reluctant” to repair his relationship with the big man.
First off, let me start off by saying I don’t blame the players on the Jazz to feel disdain for Gobert. Frankly, his actions were carless and inappropriate, especially for someone with as big of a platform as he has.
The idea that Donovan Mitchell is unwilling to salvage his relationship with the center is a totally appropriate response; after all, it very likely was Gobert’s carelessness that caused the third year pro to contract the potentially fatal illness.
That being said, for those who have followed the Houdini and, namely, myself during this pandemic — we sincerely thank you guys — I have oft said that, while there is no excuse for Gobert’s actions, by no means should this deem him a devil of a man like many people in the comments sections are advocating.
Yes, he made a foolish and careless decision to do what he did. However, it does not make him a horrid person overall.
Simply put, he’s a man who made a grave and foolish mistake. But it too would be a mistake if one believed Gobert won’t play again in the NBA after the dust has settled on these troubling times.
With the face of the franchise in Mitchell reportedly unlikely to forgive Gobert for his actions, one could certainly assume that the Jazz front office might soon look into ways of dealing the big man and his remaining year left on his salary.
With the fact that the Boston Celtics are just a stellar big man away from reaching the tip of the iceberg of NBA title contenders, perhaps they should look into potentially acquiring the defensive specialist at a discount.
Without further adieu, here are two trade packages the C’s could throw at Utah to potentially acquire Rudy Gobert.
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.
Hayward Heads Back To Salt Lake City
In this scenario, we see the C’s ship a lot more than some may want them to, but the return package may be too much to pass on.
This deal sees Gordon Hayward return to Utah, where his career began and where he blossomed into a max contract player. He helped lead the Jazz to the postseason on two separate occasions during his seven year stint, even guiding them to the second round of the playoffs in 2016-17.
During his final season in Salt Lake City the small forward put up, then, career best averages of 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds to go along with 3.5 assists and a steal per game on 47 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from deep.
Though it was perceived that Brad Stevens’ system would bring out the best of Hayward’s game — being he coached him in college and molded him into a lottery pick — to date, the 30 year old’s best days in the NBA were easily when playing in Quin Snyder’s scheme.
With the wing heading back to Salt Lake City it gives him a chance to replicate the same — or similar — level of play he once performed at while also giving the team a formidable replacement second option on the team to run alongside star Donovan Mitchell.
Along with Gordon Hayward the C’s would also be sending two 2020 First Round Picks (Boston’s and Milwaukee’s) for, not just Gobert but, also, the services of offensive specialist Bojan Bogdanović.
Since coming into the league back in 2014 the small forward has managed to improve upon his game seemingly every single year. In season six of his NBA career Bogdanović is finding himself producing career numbers virtually all across the board.
Through 63 games played the wing boasts averages of 20.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from deep.
The 30 year old is under contract for the next three seasons, giving the Boston Celtics a much needed scoring piece to either come off the bench (rank 29th in the league in second unit scoring) or in the starting lineup for the next several years.
Ideally, the team would have the forward coming off the pine but, even if inserted into the starting lineup, a unit of Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Bojan Bogdanović, Jayson Tatum and Rudy Gobert would be the most menacing starting-5 the east would have to offer.
It’s a haul for sure, but on paper, this aforementioned lineup should easily catapult the C’s to the top of the conference’s standings while also providing Utah with a more than serviceable return package for their estranged star.