Boston Celtics: 2 trades to make if Gordon Hayward opts out

Boston Celtics trade idea No. 2) A deal for Cameron Johnson

With the recent news that the Phoenix Suns just traded for All-Star point guard Chris Paul from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team’s next steps will likely be to fill in the spaces that are now vacant after they shipped off Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ty Jerome, and Jalen Lecque in the process.

Similar to our thoughts about the rumors that the New York Knicks are pursuing Russell Westbrook this offseason, the Sun’s trade for Paul is a clear indicator that they are vying for a playoff spot next season, which means they’ll need to bring on replacements to fill in for the aforementioned outgoing players.

With their salary-situation being somewhat hindered by some of the team’s large contracts — now, of course, including Paul’s — they’ll need to figure out cost-efficient ways of filling out the rest of their rotation.

One way to do this would be to bring on draft picks and players still on their rookie contracts.

This proposed deal provides them just that.

In the trade listed above, we see the 2019-20 lottery selection Romeo Langford heading to Phoenix — who we’ve seen compared to Oubre in the past — alongside two first-round picks in this year’s draft.

In exchange, the Boston Celtics would receive rookie forward Cameron Johnson who, despite not being a household name, is quite an intriguing young prospect who would compliment the C’s rotation perfectly, especially if Hayward jumps ship.

Through 58 games played Johnson posted averages of 8.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 39 percent shooting from deep.

He’d be a great addition to have come off the bench for this championship-aspiring Celtics squad, while Langford would get a fresh start in Phoenix and go along with the No. 26 and No. 30 overall pick to fill out the Suns’ roster.