Bleacher Report dropped a bombshell piece that proposed four blockbuster deals that would net the Boston Celtics some of the best players in the game. What are the chances these trades could actually happen?
Bleacher Report’s Preston Ellis attempted to trade away every team’s star player and boy oh boy did it provide fireworks. Many of those fireworks involved the core of the Boston Celtics as we know it being completely dismantled for what would be a substantially upgraded lineup based on achievements and potential.
Amazingly, some of those deals would be able to happen in the same alternate reality. The #1 pick in the NBA Draft and the Finals MVP of the 2019 editions of both events could create the most scary defensive front-courts of all time.
Other deals saw former dynasties giving up on long-time franchise players and a star entering his prime being flipped for a bevy of draft picks and a bad contract.
While the C’s undoubtedly benefited, it is quite the long-shot that any of the deals would go down. That said, there are varying degrees of likelihoods and who knows? Crazy things do happen in the NBA.
What this article highlighted was the position of strength in which the Boston Celtics are able to negotiate from. Danny Ainge is often working the phone lines when superstar players become available because of the quality of any hypothetical offer would be–with the team stocked with draft capital and valuable contracts up and down the roster.
Anyway, the Houdini is here to rank the chances of any of these blockbusters happening:
4. Jayson Tatum for Zion Williamson
This deal was BR’s attempt to trade the Celtics’ best player. It’s a total pipe dream for C’s fans even though Jayson Tatum‘s value is at an all-time high after a career-best season. Zion Williamson is under team control for the next seven to eight years, and Tatum is due for a big contract extension before the 2021-22 season.
Trust me, Danny Ainge would take this deal in a heartbeat. That is not to downplay Tatum’s tenure in Boston either. The thing is, Tatum has outperformed expectations this year while averaging 23 points per game this season. Averaging 30 points per game in the month of February certainly helped his season overall.
Williamson averaged the same points per game and it was expected. While the two were both selected just two slots different in the draft two years apart, Zion already is a known-by-one-name entity. He was arguably the most hyped up NBA prospect since LeBron James.
Simply put, any injury questions he has now is worth enduring as he develops. Giving up on the #1 pick of last year’s draft would be a panic move, and the New Orleans Pelicans would be doing the seemingly unthinkable.
Don’t expect this to be discussed, and don’t expect to see the Pelicans even consider letting go of their prized star so soon after replacing their last headliner.
3. Kemba Walker and two first round picks for Steph Curry
While the first trade was simply unthinkable from the standpoint of giving up value, this trade seems unthinkable from the vantage point of Steph Curry ever leaving the Golden State Warriors after the dynastic run they went on the last five years–and could theoretically continue in 2020-21.
Curry is a part of the lore of the Warriors franchise, and his bold 3-point shooting performances have likely forever reshaped the pace and space of the NBA. He is the only unanimous MVP in the history of the league after what he was able to accomplish during the 2015-16 season: 73-9, over 400 3-pointers and unrivaled usage.
Even if he never again plays like the dominant force he was during his prime, Curry has earned a special place in the hearts of Warriors fans forever. The franchise has repaid his loyalty (and lack of career earnings) with a super-max deal that the Boston Celtics shouldn’t pursue.
The proposed deal would include several first round picks, and taking on more money in Curry’s gargantuan deal would compound the financial issues the team is already slated to face with Brown’s extension kicking in, Tatum’s extension slated for the 2021-22 season and whatever happens with Gordon Hayward.
Walker could be dealt during his time in Beantown, but even merely a phone call to the Warriors for Curry seems like it’d be hung up on before getting very far at all. Don’t expect Curry on any other team besides the Warriors before it’s all said and done, and definitely don’t expect him in green and white.
2. Jaylen Brown, Romeo Langford and two first round picks for Kawhi Leonard
The Los Angeles Clippers gave up a total of five first round picks for the chance to sign Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2019. Those picks were sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder for one of their superstars in Paul George.
The likelihood that the Clippers would turn around a year later and give up the man they uprooted their future for is far-fetched, even if Leonard let the team know now that he had no intention of re-signing in the summer of 2021.
More likely than not, Los Angeles would hold onto the greatest player to ever suit up in Clippers colors than trade him just a year into investing so much into him. If Leonard ever did hit the trade market again, though, the Boston Celtics are one of the few teams that are uniquely positioned to make a move for the 2014 and 2019 NBA Finals MVP.
The C’s have been linked to the former 2x defensive player of the year before. In 2018, the C’s could have offered a package of Brown and Tatum after the duo led Boston to within one game of the Eastern Conference Finals championship and the NBA Finals.
The deal didn’t go down then, and now with Tatum blossoming into a star, the C’s have a worse trade package to offer for Leonard. That said, if the Clippers’ title window is open for far less time than was previously thought, the C’s have a puncher’s chance of enticing Los Angeles with a deal for their top star.
1. Gordon Hayward and four first round picks for Karl-Anthony Towns
Finally, the last trade here is somewhat feasible…from the side of the Boston Celtics. ultimately, though, there will likely not be a major deal anytime soon involving Karl Anthony-Towns departing from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a number of reasons.
First, they just invested $158 million in the #1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Giving up on him so soon would be a sign of a desperate franchise, and the Timberwolves have at least tried to give the illusion that they wanted to compete since the 2017-18 season when they acquired Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Chicago Bulls.
Secondly, the Wolves just gave up future draft picks to acquire D’Angelo Russell in a blockbuster deadline trade. Why would Minnesota be so willing to give up their franchise star after investing in his sidekick?
By the way, the Timberwolves acquired Russell to signal their desire to compete in the Western Conference. Such a deal would signal their intent on rebuilding, but their recent actions suggest they want to do the opposite.
Out of any deal listed, giving up Hayward and a bevy of draft picks to acquire the center of the future is the most conceivable deal here out of any of them. That said, it won’t happen anytime soon, and any dreams Boston Celtics fans have of star-chasing should be put on hold for the immediate future until the season is sorted out in any sort of way.