Boston Celtics: 3 rumored trade proposals Cs should avoid this offseason

Rumored trade Boston Celtics should avoid No. 2) Hayward heads to Portland

This “gem” of a proposal comes from a Bleacher Report article entitled Star NBA Trades Nobody’s Thought of Yet. In all likelihood, the reason why this deal was not thought of until writer Zach Buckley published it is because it just isn’t that good… well, at least for the Boston Celtics, anyway.

The purpose of this trade revolves around the idea that Boston might want to look into bolstering their bench rotation, specifically improving their offensive production. A fair theory, as the unit finished the season as one of the worst in the entire association — ranked 29th in points per game (28.5), 28th in 3-point percentage (31.8), and 20th in offensive rating (53.6).

Buckley’s reasoning for the deal reads as follows:

"While this deal would require the Celtics to split with Brad Stevens’ prized pupil at Butler, the ball might already be rolling that direction. Hayward’s deal is down to a $34.2 million player option, and if he picks it up, that wouldn’t guarantee the relationship extending beyond next season. Boston already has massive money committed to Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart. Jayson Tatum will add to that whenever he puts pen to paper on a max extension. Even if the C’s wanted to keep Hayward, it might not be financially feasible, so ditching that deal while adding current contributors and long-term prospects might be the move to make. Boston would need to picture Zach Collins as a building block big for this package to work, but it doesn’t require much imagination to see that kind of potential in 2017’s No. 10 pick. Anfernee Simons has the talent to scratch the Celtics’ itch for shot-making and distributing on the second team. Rodney Hood and Trevor Ariza can both soak up wing minutes next season, and their best-case scenarios put each one into the postseason rotation."

At the end of the day, however, it all comes down to one specific question: is giving up the likes of Gordon Hayward — a player who just posted 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists per game — AND a first-rounder really worth just adding on mere role players?

Answer: no.

Perhaps the most intriguing piece coming back to the Celtics in this proposed deal is Trevor Ariza, who would certainly add defensive toughness, consistent floor-spacing off the bench, and much needed veteran leadership.

That said, the Cs could simply utilize their mid-level exception or veteran minimum contracts on bringing in players who possess similar qualities available on the open market (Serge Ibaka, for example) rather than exchanging their highly productive former All-Star for the remaining $12.8 million left on Ariza’s deal.

From Boston’s perspective, this proposal is really bad. However, this is not the worst deal we’ve heard so far this offseason. That moniker is bestowed to the package listed on the next slide…