Boston Celtics: 1 trade for every 2019 rookie under contract

The Boston Celtics roster crunch is about to be felt whenever the 2020 off-season begins. Could deals involving last year’s disappointing rookie class make room for incoming 2020 draft picks?

It’s been no secret for a long time that Danny Ainge and co. may have made some draft gaffes during the 2019 NBA Draft. Not a single long-term star was selected. Worse yet, not a single rookie in either the first or second round established themselves enough to be considered a valuable trade asset.

All the C’s needed to do was find some bench scoring. The starting five, and even the top reserves like Marcus Smart and Enes Kanter, were going to handle the bulk of the point producing for the C’s. But just having someone knock down open 3’s reliably and create opportunities for teammates would have been a boon for Boston.

Instead, Brad Stevens has often been forced to shorten his rotations to eight players to maximize his squad’s ability to be competitive. Instead of supplanting his bench with depth, he has had to bring the rookies along slowly…which usually isn’t the plan for a team with championship aspirations.

Needless to say, if Ainge had a chance, he may want a mulligan on some–if not all of his 2019 draft selections. Now here’s the thing: the players under contract are locked down for a few years, meaning that cutting them really isn’t an option with the team already projected to pay the luxury tax.

Instead, here is one trade for each contracted 2019 rookie: