Boston Celtics: 1 trade for every 2019 rookie under contract

Finally, we reach Carsen Edwards, who has fallen from grace after an exceptional summer league and preseason. The Houdini, and much of Boston Celtics nation for that matter, had feelings that Edwards could soon grow into the backup lead guard role through his pure scoring power alone.

While he didn’t have top notch distributing abilities even in college, Edwards’ 3-point and pull-up abilities were supposed to grant him the keys to the C’s offense. In the preseason, he seemed like a more exciting choice for the backup 1-spot than Brad Wanamaker.

Then the season started and everything that made Edwards a potential breakout candidate disappeared. Gone was his scorched-earth scoring. He was no longer making eight 3-pointers in one quarter like he did in the preseason.

Instead, he was barely making 30 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in two shots per contest. Eventually, he was demoted to the G-League, which suffice to say, was not the plan when the C’s handed him a guaranteed four-year deal in the off-season.

To recoup for the money they gave Edwards, the team could look to move him in a deal for a true point guard in Jalen Brunson of the Dallas Mavericks. I recently wrote about the merits of a swap for both sides:

"While his shooting percentages are average, (Brunson) has proven to be able to play his role on a winning team. His 3:1 assist/turnover ration is also telling. Brunson isn’t the flashiest, but he is a safe option as the primary backup. So far, he has shown more potential than Edwards despite the fact that they both were selected at the #33 pick the last two years. Rick Carlisle’s offense has proven in the past to be able to prop up undersized point guards. J.J. Barea and Seth Curry both stand under six-foot-two, with Barea underneath the six-foot threshold. Both players have been able to carve roles out of Dallas’ system despite that."

Brunson makes sense for a C’s offense that can use a ball-handler, while Edwards could make sense as a spot-up shooter alongside Luka Dioncic. If it takes a draft pick to make it happen…well, make it happen!