The Boston Celtics should continue looking to bolster their roster as they move along during this season, and Joe Harris could be seen as an optimal trade target.
After the Boston Celtics reportedly pulled out of negotiations to land James Harden, the superstar wound up landing in Brookly to formulate a big-3 alongside fellow All-World talents Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
In doing so, however, General Manager Sean Marks seemingly gutted the team’s depth, especially within their frontcourt and, thus, could be in the running to either scour the buyout market or look for another deal to address their newly established needs.
Recently, my co-editor Andrew Hughes proposed the idea of the Cs potentially being a trade partner for the Nets, as they could theoretically sell high on a player like, say, Daniel Theis in exchange for an asset that could better help shape out the rotation.
One player he discussed bringing back in a hypothetical deal is veteran sharpshooter Joe Harris who, according to Andrew, would mesh brilliantly with Boston’s current roster:
"Joe Harris is an ideal fit in the Boston Celtics lineup for many reasons. An unselfish gunner, Harris has the ability to run the fastbreak and finish in transition, but his greatest strengths lie in his incredible shooting numbers."
The prospect of adding a guy like Harris to this championship-aspiring Celtics squad is one that is very intriguing to the Houdini and, with this, we have concocted 3 trades the team could realistically do to bring on the seventh-year pro:
Boston Celtics trade No. 1) Daniel Theis heads to Brooklyn
First up, we see the simplest trade that will be found on this list, involving a simple two-team trade between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.
Like we hinted towards earlier, we’d be ok with a deal involving Daniel Theis being swapped out in a deal that lands the Cs Joe Harris, and the proposed package would do exactly that.
The belief is, Boston would have some leverage in negotiations, as the Nets are truly depleted at the center position as well as on defense. Because of this, they could try to sell high on the 6-9 Theis who, just last season, posted 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks a game on 57 percent shooting from the floor and33 percent shooting from deep while also finishing second in the league in real defensive box plus-minus.
Not only this, but the Nets would also bring on the two-way talents of Semi Ojeleye to help bolster the team’s efforts on the less glamorous side of the ball.
And, of course, we see Joe Harris coming to Beantown.
Through 14 games played, the wing is averaging 14.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and two assists on an impressive 52 percent shooting from the field and 49 percent shooting from deep.
A great floor-spacing compliment who hasn’t shot below 40 percent from beyond the arc since the 2016-17 season, Harris would be a great asset to help this Celtics squad be it off the bench or, our preferred option, in the starting lineup, creating a first-five of Kemba Walker, Joe Harris, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Tristan Thompson.
With him in the starting rotation, it would allow Marcus Smart to venture back to his best-served role as a sixth-man and lead the team’s second unit.
Losing Theis and Ojeleye may be upsetting to some, but if it leads to the Boston Celtics landing Harris, it would likely prove to have been worth it in the longrun.