Boston Celtics: 3 high-impact trades involving C’s starters

Trade involving Boston Celtics starter No. 2) Kemba Walker to New York

Earlier this week, our very own Andrew Hughes brought up the idea of the New York Knicks being the perfect offseason trade partner for the Boston Celtics. Two of the reasons he gave were in reference to the fact that they give the franchise a chance to move up in the draft and also give them an out from Kemba Walker‘s contract, which Bleacher Report recently deemed as one the Cs likely wish they could have disappear.

Andrew’s reasoning for both reads as follows:

"1. New York represents a chance to move up in the draft The Knicks own the #8 pick in the NBA Draft, and there are reports the team may be interested in moving back in the draft:   “According to two league sources, the Knicks are seriously mulling trading back in the Nov. 18 draft unless big man James Wiseman or point guard LaMelo Ball fall back to the eighth spot. It’s become increasingly clear the Knicks’ top priority, Ball, is unlikely to slide. Wiseman, the athletic 7-foot-1 center from Memphis, has seen some mock-draft fluctuations. However, most NBA draft sources believe it’s improbable Wiseman will make it to No. 8, leaving the Knicks in a quandary.”   At No. 8, the Knicks have staged internal talks about swapping back with a team in the Nos. 12-15 range to gain a young player in his rookie contract while still making a lottery pick. One player who’s been on their radar as a late-lottery guy is combo guard Tyrese Maxey, a one-and-doner from Kentucky. Coincidentally, the Boston Celtics fall in the 12-15 right at #14. These two teams may be a match made in heaven since the Cs need quality over quantity in this year’s draft over finding the latter in the 2019 NBA Draft."

"3. New York would likely overpay for a hometown savior like Kemba Walker Walker’s knee woes suffered this past season and throughout his career was a contributing factor in the Charlotte Hornets not wanting to hand him a five-year max contract in 2019 free agency. The extent of his injuries is somewhat concerning, given the remaining three seasons left on his $141 million commitment last offseason:   “Walker’s left knee has been a concern throughout his career. He had three minor arthroscopic procedures on that knee before joining the Celtics and he had his knee drained earlier this year when it flared up after the All-Star game. According to Ainge, there doesn’t appear to be another in Walker’s future.” Cutting bait now would be the wisest long-term move from Danny Ainge, even if it would be a temporary disruption to a Boston Celtics team that built amazing chemistry throughout the past year. If the focus of the team is to build around Tatum and Brown, this would set the team up for a bright future, and bolster the depth of the team in the interim, of course at the expense of their core."

This trade accomplishes both of these aforementioned points, while also adding on young role guys like Frank Ntilikina & Kevin Knox and giving them the ability to add a potential replacement for Walker at No. 8 in Killian Hayes or Tyrese Haliburton should they be available.