The Boston Celtics once again find themselves linked to some of the league’s most buzzed-about assets heading into the 2020 offseason.
As of this moment, the Boston Celtics find themselves fighting for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, as they are in the midst of an ECF battle against the Miami Heat.
Though down 1-0 in this best-of-seven, the Cs are still undeniably alive and, in all honesty, have a great chance of coming out of this series victorious should they — and Kemba Walker — hit their stride.
With this current juncture in time, one would expect the media to be all over this conference finals series and push out excessive content in regard to this competitive round-three. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you wish to look at it, this has not been the case as media outlets — admittedly, including ourselves — can’t seem to shake the desire to cover potential offseason moves, not for just Boston but, simply, every franchise.
Recently, Bleacher Report put out an article entitled An Offseason Trade for Every Eliminated NBA Playoff Team and, would you believe it, the shamrocks found themselves intertwined with one specific team in the Houston Rocket.
With this, it sparked a desire for the Houdini to get back into this “offseason hypothetical” fad and discuss two players listed in B/R’s article and one that has been linked to the franchise in the past.
In turn, we present to you one of our favorite series “Pass or Pursue”, where we discuss whether or not the Celtics should sit out on talks for one of these players, or if they should actively try to acquire them.
So, without further adieu, let’s get started:
Rumored target No. 1) Eric Gordon
First up on the docket we have the offensive spark plug off the bench for the Houston Rockets, Eric Gordon. Over his 12-year career in the NBA, the shooting guard has made a name for himself as one of the best sixth men the game has to offer, even winning the illustrious Sixth Man of the Year award back in 2016-17.
Throughout his tenure in the league, Gordon has proven to be a sensational offensive weapon who can score both inside and outside, on-ball and off-ball. Boasting career averages of 16.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game on 43 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from deep, the veteran certainly has the numbers to back up this claim.
Being that the Boston Celtics certainly do need to upgrade their bench in terms of offensive firepower — ranked 29th in points per game, 28th in 3-point percentage, and 20th in offensive rating — one could certainly believe the idea of Gordon heading to Beantown could be an ideal scenario.
That said, considering his injury history (has played over 70 games just twice in his career), his age (will be 32 by the start of next season), and the lofty salary he’ll likely command, adding the offensive-minded guard might not be the best idea for this Cs team moving forward.
Verdict: Pass
Rumored target No. 2) Robert Covington
Robert Covington, also known as “RoCo”, is a player in which the Houdini has advocated the Boston Celtics look into quite a few times in the past.
Through seven seasons suiting up on the NBA’s hardwood, the forward has established himself as one of the best 3-and-D players in the entire league. For his career, the win boasts impressive averages of 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and just shy of a block per game on 41 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent shooting from deep.
Coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, the 29-year-old managed to put up solid averages of 12.4 points, 6.6 boards, 1.6 steals, and 1.3 blocks a night on 34 percent shooting from deep while spending a majority of his time at both the power forward and center positions.
Similar to the current heart and soul of the Boston Celtics, Marcus Smart, Covington is a hustler on both ends of the court and constantly finds himself in the discussion for the NBA’s All-Defensive Team come season’s end — named to the All-Defensive First-Team back in 2018.
A player of his caliber is highly sought after by teams today, and he would instantly be another Swiss Army-like talent for this Cs second unit.
If Danny Ainge can acquire the seventh-year vet’s services at a relatively cheap price, I see no reason why Boston wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to bring him aboard heading into 2020-21.
Verdict: Pursue
Rumored target No. 3) Alec Burks
Last, but certainly not least we have Alec Burks, a man who turned a calendar year of such sorrow and despair into one that he can look back one and claim to have been an individual success.
Since being selected 12th overall back in the 2011 NBA Draft, the shooting guard has struggled to find consistent minutes within his respective team’s rotation. Be it injury-plagued seasons or, simply, inconsistent production, Burks’ talents have found themselves bouncing all across the map, starting in Utah then to Cleveland then to two stops in California (Sacramento and Golden State) then, most recently, in Philadelphia.
His final landing spot in the “Golden State” was this season with the Warriors, where he managed to put forth some of the best basketball of his entire career. Through 48 games, the wing boasted impressive averages of 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists on 41 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from deep.
Traded to the Sixers at the deadline, Burks, though in a smaller role, managed to continue his high level of play off the pine and gave the team an extra scoring punch moving forward.
Now, after Boston’s sweep over Philadelphia, the 29-year-old finds himself heading into free agency looking for a solid payday because, frankly, he earned it.
This right here is the main reason why the Celtics should not pursue him: he’ll likely cost too much money.
With three first-round draft picks on the horizon, they’d likely be better off looking to add incoming rookies to help bolster their scoring punch within the second unit.