Boston Celtics: 4 trades for Cs to acquire a top-10 pick

Boston Celtics trade No. 4) Hayward heads to Atlanta, Collins heads to Boston

Sure, this deal may sound wild, but crazier things have certainly happened.

When it was first reported that Gordon Hayward may want out of Boston this offseason, the idea of the Atlanta Hawks being a suitor for the former All-Star was almost immediately brought up.

Just a short time after this was reported, more news came out that the Hawks were interested in potentially moving their No. 6 overall pick in this year’s draft in exchange for a savvy veteran that could help the team make a run at a postseason berth in 2020-21.

And just like that, folks, a trade speculation emerged.

Now, in order to make this deal work Atlanta, though they’ll have a large sum of money come off the books this offseason, will still need to shed a bit more salary to make the numbers align.

While one may have previously thought the idea of any deal involving John Collins was ridiculous, recent rumblings suggest that the third-year big man and the team’s front office are at an impasse on contract-extension talks and, thus, could lead to both parties looking for a split.

"John Collins is another player opposing teams will monitor closely. After averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive seasons, Collins is eligible for an extension this offseason. Collins and his agents, Jeff Schwartz and Sean Kennedy of Excel Sports Management, will seek a maximum contract extension ideally… If the Hawks and Collins’ camp are far apart on an extension, it could open the door for Atlanta to gauge his value on the trade market."

This deal would then provide Atlanta with that coveted veteran presence in Hayward — who just averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from downtown — to serve as a leader for this young team as well as a second scoring option alongside franchise point guard, Trae Young.

The deal also sees former lottery pick Romeo Langford head to the Hawks as well as the C’s 3 first-round selections in this year’s draft as well as 2022 first-rounder.

In turn, Boston brings on Collins who could prove to be a long-term fixture for the franchise down low, as he is coming off of a fantastic season where he posted impressive averages of 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game on 58 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep.