Now that James Harden finds himself with the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics should consider doing some follow-up trades to keep them atop the Eastern Conference standings.
The Boston Celtics may currently be the Number one seed in the Eastern Conference standings, but the Nets are coming for them.
After months of rumors and gossip, it finally happened: Brookly traded for superstar shooting guard James Harden.
With this move, the team has perhaps the best big-3 in the entire league in Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving (whenever he returns to the team) and, in turn, are obviously going all-in for the Larry O’Brien trophy.
However, Cs fans would love nothing more than to see their favorite franchise rain on Brooklyn’s parade and beat them to the punch by representing the east in the NBA Finals in 2021.
Unfortunately, at the moment, Boston does not have the fire-power to match that of the Nets, which could wind up becoming apparent should they go against each other in the postseason down the road.
In response to the Harden deal, the shamrocks should look into making some smart and savvy moves to help bolster their roster, and the Houdini believes there are 4 specific players they should consider pursuing:
Boston Celtics target No. 1) Aaron Gordon
Though the Boston Celtics may be playing like one of the best teams in the NBA this season, they still find themselves with numerous holes in their rotation that could use filling.
One of these said holes is at the power forward position, where, frankly, they have no clear cut option to roll with.
Aaron Gordon — a player we’ve discussed the Cs pursuing many times before — would easily be an upgrade to the lineup and, quite frankly, would make this offense even scarier than they already are.
Currently, the stretch big is posting impressive all-around averages of 14.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and just shy of a steal per game on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 36 percent shooting from deep.
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 (allowing for cleaner looks at the perimeter for his teammates), can sky-high for lob passes, and who has also improved upon his 3-point shot since entering the league.
Add in the fact that he’s still only 25-years-old and Gordon is easily seen as both a player who can help them win now as well as in the future.
Boston Celtics target No. 2) Myles Turner
For those of you familiar with our work at HH, you know how much we love the idea of Myles Turner in a Boston Celtics uniform.
Concocting trades for the 24-year-old big man for years now, we believe that there are many ways Danny Ainge could get a deal done and, in many realistic ways, it would be well worth it.
At 6-11, 250-pounds with a 7-4 wingspan, Turner has the proper build that allows him to play the five while possessing the skillset that allows him to play the power forward position as well.
For his career, the big man finds himself boasting 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game on 49 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent shooting from deep.
This season, while his numbers are roughly the same, in the blocks department he finds himself swatting an outstanding 4.1 shots per game and, with his impressive displays on the less glamorous side of the ball, is making an early case for himself to win Defensive Player Of The Year, according to Tony East of Forbes SportsMoney:
"In the 2020-21 season, his defensive box plus-minus sits at +3.0, which is tied for the best mark in the NBA. His block rate is currently at a league-leading level. And he’s sticking with perimeter players better than he ever has in the past. To put it bluntly: Myles Turner is playing like the best defensive player in the NBA."
The center position is clearly still the weakest spot in the rotation for the Boston Celtics.
Myles Turner would be an unbelievable defensive-oriented/ floor-spacing big to roll out at the pivot moving forward in a lineup alongside Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum.
Boston Celtics target No. 3) John Collins
If the fact that the Atlanta Hawks and John Collins failed to come to an agreement on a contract extension earlier this season weren’t enough of an indicator that there could be some “trouble in paradise”, recent reports of rifts between the power forward and franchise cornerstone Trae Young certainly should.
NEW – Hawks big man John Collins has raised several issues about the team's offense with Trae Young at the helm, multiple sources tell @sam_amick & @ChrisKirschner.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 8, 2021
"Trae is my brother regardless," Collins said in response.
Since this came out, obviously the media has had a field day in thinking up trades that would land the third-year big on another team and, as you already know, we’ve jumped into the mix ourselves.
The thought of Collins running with this current Boston Celtics core is quite an exciting prospect to think about for fans.
Like Turner, he has the perfect combination of size and skill to play either the four or five however, unlike the Indiana big, Collins has the ability to take over games offensively.
2019-20 was a true breakout season for the 23-year-old, as he posted stellar 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.
With him in tow, the Cs could finally run their seemingly preferred big-ball lineup with him at power forward, while also allowing them to have the ability to run last season’s preferred 5-out scheme.
Boston Celtics target No. 4) Bradley Beal
In this league, star power is seemingly everything and, should the Boston Celtics wish to try and match teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Los Angeles Clippers they may be interested in making a deal for Bradley Beal.
Already having a connection with current star Jayson Tatum that goes back to childhood — both are from St. Louis — Beals start status plus a desire to be a part of a contender could wind up leading him to Beantown.
Off to yet another incredible season, the All-Star is posting averages of 34.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and five assists on 49 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from the field.
Though not currently rumored to be available for a deal, with their lackadaisical record, Scott Brooks sitting atop the hottest of seats, and their two-year postseason drought/ lack of postseason success prior, it could only be a matter of time before we see him request out of the nation’s capital.
Beal added to the majority of this core — considering it will take some of it to acquire him — would give Boston enough firepower to potentially combat that of Brooklyn’s and, as we said earlier, star power is everything in this league.