Boston Celtics: 2 fireworks-producing offseason trades

A Damian Lillard-Boston Celtics union would be the intersection of complacency and opportunity. The complacency comes from the lack of improvement the Portland Trailblazers have seen this season after reaching the conference finals last season. The team is currently out of the playoff picture before the NBA season restart and will be without Trevor Ariza in the Lake Buena Vista Bubble in Disney World.

The opportunity aspect is all Danny Ainge. If Lillard so much as implies he doesn’t want to stick around in Portland, Ainge needs to offer the Trailblazers everything short of Jayson Tatum and (maybe) Jaylen Brown.

As good as Walker has been the past few seasons, he has never had a season like Lillard is having: 29 points and eight assists per game as the leader of the Portland offense. Boston’s ceiling would be higher instantaneously with the man known as “Dame Dolla” on the roster.

In order to get any deal done, draft picks will most certainly be needed to be sent Portland’s way. This iteration of the deal is similar to the framework of last summer’s Chris Paul–Russell Westbrook trade.

The C’s would be pairing Lillard with Tatum to form the league’s most lethal long-range pair this side of the splash brothers. If opportunity comes knocking, Boston’s front office must capitalize on the complacency of the Trailblazers franchise.