Boston Celtics: 3 players worth trading up for in 2020 NBA Draft

Player worth Cs trading up for No. 2) Deni Avdija, SF/ PF

Now, we get it, the wing position for the Boston Celtics is completely stacked with the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Smart all in tow for the foreseeable future. Drafting Romeo Langford in last year’s draft was seen by many as somewhat of a questionable decision based on the aforementioned statement.

That said, Deni Avdija is a different breed of baller, and acquiring him could realistically lead to some “addition by subtraction.”

With the recent NBA successes of former EuroLeague talents such as Nikola Jokic, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luka Doncic, it’s safe to say teams are much less hesitant to pull the trigger on a prospect like Avidja — someone who’s been noted as having somewhat of a Doncic-esque style of play.

At 6-9, the 19-year-old forward has shown an impressive combination of ball-handling, court vision, and shooting skills that could have him thrive on the NBA stage. Seen as a potential top-5 pick, the reigning Israeli League MVP has the potential of being a franchise centerpiece for any team willing to take a chance on him.

Adding him to an already stacked team like the Cs would just be a true dream scenario. However, some dreams are actually quite achievable, and so too could the idea of Avidja donning the green and white threads in 2020-21.

A package consisting of Boston’s 3 first-round selections and perhaps a few sweetener additions not named Jayson or Jaylen could entice a higher lottery team to trade down.

Should this happen, and Avdija were to be attained, then this would be where our “addition by subtraction” statement from earlier would come into play.

Adding a versatile wing such as the young forward would make players like Hayward, Langford, and even Smart expendable, should one of them not be traded to move up in the draft for his services.

With this, Danny Ainge could use them as bait to bring on players who could better shapen their rotation — perhaps add experience bench scorers to their abysmal second unit — and thus, in theory, strengthen the team’s overall production.

Having a young big-3 of Tatum, Brown, and Avidja moving forward could be an unbelievable luxury for the franchise. Though this idea is relatively unlikely, that’s not to say it’s impossible.

No matter what, however, one cannot argue that Deni Avidja isn’t a player worth trading up for if you’re Boston.