Boston Celtics: 1 trade target from every Southwest division team

New Orleans Pelicans trade target: Josh Hart

So far in his young career, Josh Hart has been through a lot of trade rumors. Playing alongside LeBron James in his second season after playing on an encouraging young Los Angeles Lakers team his rookie year changed the narrative for the Villanova product.

He went from being a potential foundational piece to an annoying young kid standing in the way of a Lakers playoff run and ring #4 for the “king”. Luckily for Hart, he was traded away as part of the package for Anthony Davis and has upped his game in New Orleans.

The fit for the Pelicans in a deal is simple: they may lose Derrick Favors in free agency, meaning that the C’s bigs could intrigue New Orleans into negotiating a deal for the third-year man who is averaging 10 points, six rebounds and two assists on 42/34/77 shooting from the field.

Memphis Grizzlies trade target: Brandon Clarke

The Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies have been linked this year due to the C’s owning Memphis’ first-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. That the Grizzlies have been a playoff team has been great news for Boston, who will now get their selection in this October’s draft.

Perhaps the two teams can continue their connection with a deal involving the Grizzlies’ standout rookie Brandon Clarke. Averaging 12 points, six rebounds, an assist, and a block per game on 62 percent shooting from the field, Clarke is providing Memphis with frontcourt versatility and reliability in his first year.

Boston could try to package their own first-round pick from last year in Romeo Langford with additional draft capital to get add Clarke to their frontcourt. Maybe they can even try to trade the Grizz pick back to them. Either way, Clarke is a target worth phoning Memphis’ front office about.