Boston Celtics: B/R has James Harden heading to Cs in latest trade piece

Though rumor has it that James Harden wants to make his way to Brooklyn this offseason Bleacher Report has him heading to the Boston Celtics in their latest trade piece.

With the start of the NBA’s trade season commencing this past Monday coupled with the draft coming Wednesday, the NBA’s rumor mill has constantly been spinning, and, to no one’s surprise, the Boston Celtics have been ingrained within the rotation.

With the fact that they hold the rights to 3 first-round selections, are seen as an attractive landing spot for mid-level exception caliber free agents, and are reportedly looking to make deals this offseason, it’s easy to see why this is.

Most recently, the Cs found themselves mentioned within one of Bleacher Report’s latest articles entitled Realistic Trades We Could See on NBA Draft Night. In the piece, Boston was listed twice.

In one deal, we see writer Greg Swartz proposing the team trade all 3 of their 2020 first-rounders to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for the rights to the No. 7 picks, where they’d likely take USC big man Onyeka Okongwu, who has been linked to the franchise for a few weeks now.

The second hypothetical deal we see Boston linked to is actually quite a blockbuster. It is a three-team trade between the Celtics, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets where James Harden heads to Beantown.

The deal:

Swartz’s reasoning as to why it would be beneficial for the Boston Celtics to make such a deal read as follows:

"The Celtics have the assets to pull off a trade for the 2018 MVP, armed with young talent and picks, including three first-rounders in this draft.This is an all-in move for the C’s, one that shoots them past the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat straight to the top of the Eastern Conference. It also prevents the Brooklyn Nets from trading for Harden and creating their own Big Three.Harden brings his 34.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.8 steals to a Celtics starting lineup that would also feature Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Tucker and Daniel Theis, with Marcus Smart serving as sixth man."

This trade is quite juicy. Landing the NBA superstar to partner with Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, and Marcus Smart would create quite a strong core and, in regard to fire-power, would likely make the Celtics the best in the East, if not the entire NBA.

Adding a talent like P.J. Tucker to the team’s rotation would also bring them much-needed defensive intensity, frontcourt floor spacing, and upgraded hustle.

Recently we published an article discussing the only 3 players that would be worth trading Jaylen Brown for and, though we’d be hesitant to include him in any deal, Harden was found on this shortlist.

In short, should this type of deal happen, though it would be tough to let Brown go, a return such as this for Boston might be too much to pass up.

What say you Celtics fans?

Would you do this deal if you’re Danny Ainge? Would you be upset if it were to happen?

Whatever your thoughts are, drop them in the comments section below!