Boston Celtics: ranking the fit for 3 recent C’s trade targets

1) Rudy Gobert

In the recent weeks, we’ve covered the possibility of the Boston Celtics pursuing All-Star center Rudy Gobert in a trade this offseason.

After reports came out that the relationship between he and fellow Utah Jazz All-Star teammate Donovan Mitchell appeared to be “unsalvageable” due to his carless antics in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic that, eventually, saw both Gobert and Mitchell test positive, we at the Houdini had a field day discussing potential trade packages for the estranged star.

Now, over two weeks later, we’re still big on this idea.

Prior to the league’s suspension on March 11th, Gobert was in the midst of perhaps his best season in the NBA. Registering 15.1 points, 13.7 rebounds and two blocks per game on 70 percent shooting from the field 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 in the Western Conference with a record of 41-23.

The 2x Defensive Player of the Year and 3x NBA All-Defensive First Team selection would be an incredible asset to have at this true center-less C’s team that, despite this need, currently find themselves in legitimate contention for the Larry O’brien trophy. 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 part in this scenario would be finding assets to entice Utah to make a trade, and salaries to match Gobert’s max contract. However, if Danny Ainges tenure has taught us anything, it’s that he can be very persuasive and incredibly successful in trade negotiations.