Boston Celtics: “Pass or Pursue” on 3 proposed Kemba Walker trades
By Mark Nilon
Proposed trade idea No. 2) Cs get a legitimate power forward in his prime
The idea of acquiring Aaron Gordon has been one in the minds of us here at HH for quite some time now. Just recently, we published an article discussing why we believe Gordon to be a great target for the Boston Celtics using their newly acquired trade exception from the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade.
"During the 2019-20 campaign, Gordon posted averages of 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 44 percent shooting from the floor. With him in tow, the Boston Celtics would have themselves a fantastic pick & roll player at the four who will draw a defense’s attention whenever he is in the vicinity of the rim, can sky-high for lob passes, and who has also improved upon his 3-point shot since entering the league. Frankly, with Aaron Gordon, this already impressive offense would simply just get even better."
Though we absolutely love Kemba Walker, should this proposed deal of acquiring the power forward, Terrence Ross, Al-Farouq Aminu, AND a 2023 first-round pick arise in reality, we would see this as an undeniable win for the Celtics.
According to the article, so too does Siegel.
"… acquiring Aaron Gordon allows Jayson Tatum to move back to the small-forward position where he is the most comfortable on the court, as well as a reliable rebounder who can give the Celtics numerous offensive rebound opportunities just from him alone. The Celtics have been one of the top rebounding teams over the years and adding another aggressive rebounder to this team could be the difference maker come playoff time. Terrance Ross and Al-Farouq Aminu give the Celtics two veterans who can come off the bench and not only be threats to score, but help the Celtics a lot defensively in the second-unit. Boston has struggled in the past when going to their bench and they have not had a lot of veteran depth over the years. Aminu did not play much last season due to injury, but he has always been known as a tough defender and aggressive rebounder in the paint."
In a nutshell, not only would the Boston Celtics be landing a total gem of a talent in Gordon, but they’d easily be improving upon their putrid scoring-punch off the pine with Ross and Aminu, as they ranked 29th in points per game (28.5), 28th in 3-point percentage (31.8), and 20th in offensive rating (53.6).
This would be a fantastic move for Danny Ainge to make and, should the opportunity arise, the team should definitely pounce on it.