Boston Celtics: 3 Gordon Hayward trades to the Phoenix Suns

Why the Boston Celtics do it

The Boston Celtics fill all their holes in one fell swoop with this deal. Myles Turner–who, yes, we will talk about wearing green and white until he does–ends up taking his rightful place on the depth chart as the starting center.

Kelly Oubre takes Hayward’s spot in the rotation as a second unit scoring wing (let’s face it, Marcus Smart is the new starting 2 now) and Aaron Holiday becomes another able body to soak up minutes at the backup point guard spot.

Why the Phoenix Suns do it

I’m not so sure we need to spend much time dissecting why a Phoenix Suns team that hasn’t made the postseason in a literal decade would think twice about acquiring two former All-Stars in one shot.

Deandre Ayton may never develop into the franchise player the team is hoping he will be–considering they passed on both Luka Doncic and Trae Young to make Ayton the #1 overall pick–so trading the big man now for two players who aren’t far off from an All-Star level now would be the best way to put the team in postseason contention in 2020-21.

Why the Indiana Pacers do it

For Indiana, the shift would be to building around Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon in the absence of Turner and Oladipo. Deandre Ayton isn’t the best fit next to Sabonis, but he is the exact kind of talent you want to acquire in a rebuilding trade.

Ricky Rubio stabilizes the guard spot in either the starting lineup or second unit. Four first-round picks begin the process of building the next roster that is actually capable of vying for a championship.