Boston Celtics: 2 franchise-altering blockbuster trades
Franchise-altering blockbuster trade No. 1: Devin Booker comes to Beantown
The notion of this trade was created within the comments section of one of our most recent posts by one of our newest active viewers, Michael Spagnolo — Hooligan may have some competition in that department.
At first, the idea of this deal haunted me: trading away Kemba Walker after all he’s done for the team in his first season, and to replace him with someone who, frankly, is nowhere near his level is a bit daunting.
However, with a few days of pondering, I have come to a similar realization as Michael: this deal could prove to be amazing for the Boston Celtics.
Obviously, the biggest draw for the Cs is the idea of acquiring Devin Booker. The young scoring machine is posting arguably his best season in the NBA thus far, averaging 26.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.2 rebounds on 49 percent shooting from the floor and 36 percent shooting from deep.
We’ve talked about the idea of pairing the first time All-Star alongside Boston’s young stud Jayson Tatum a few times in the past. In a majority of our past hypothetical deals, we’ve proposed the idea of shipping off the C’s other young talent, Jaylen Brown. With this deal, we bypass that loss entirely.
Of course, as mentioned previously, this would mean giving up Walker, Gordon Hayward, and a 2020 first-round selection.
A large haul, I know. Though it would be tough to part with the All-Star guard and the finally productive Hayward, the return package alongside Booker certainly seems to soften such a blow.
Ricky Rubio, though not an All-Star or anywhere near Kemba’s caliber, actually could be a great fit on a team as flush with talent like the Cs would be if they were to actually execute this trade. A pass-first point guard who holds a career average of 7.8 points a game, Rubio is having a fine campaign in his first season of a three-year contract with the Phoenix Suns.
With averages of 13.1 points, 8.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game on 41 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent shooting from deep, the ninth-year pro is producing at as high of a level as ever, all while running alongside the best offensive weapon he’s ever had.
Add in guys like Tatum and Brown into this mix, and Rubio’s assist totals would likely skyrocket. With all these mouths to feed, it helps to have a point guard whose first instinct is to set up his teammates rather than seek for his own shot.
The third piece being shipped to Beantown in this scenario, Kelly Oubre Jr. is simply a great addition for the team. Currently ranked 29th in points per game, 27th in 3-point percentage, and 22nd in Offensive Rating in regard to their second unit it’s clear the team could use for as much help as possible off the pine.
Oubre Jr. could be exactly what they need to drastically improve their bench.
Though for a majority of his career he has been used as a key cog off the pine, in 2019-20 he has found himself slotted into the Suns’ starting lineup in 55 of a total of 56 games played and has performed quite admirably. In 34.5 minutes a game the wing has posted career averages of 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game on 45 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent shooting from deep.
He’d be an excellent piece to come off the pine alongside Marcus Smart to give their second unit a great one-two punch on both ends of the floor.
With this deal, the team would have a starting-five of Ricky Rubio, Devin Booker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Daniel Theis (presumably) and the likes of Smart and Oubre Jr. coming off the pine. This seven-man rotation alone has as much firepower as virtually any other the league currently has to offer and, likely, would make the Boston Celtics far more menacing — at least, on paper — then they are right now.
Add in two young prospects from this upcoming draft and their returning young talents in Romeo Langford, Tremont Waters, Grant Williams, and Tacko Fall and you have the potential makings of one of the deepest teams in the NBA.