The Boston Celtics could soon be looking to make a blockbuster deal to respond to the Brooklyn Nets landing James Harden.
This past Sunday, Kemba Walker returned to the Boston Celtics lineup and the Cs promptly got rag-dolled by a team less than two miles from New York City’s East River.
And it wasn’t even the NY team that just traded for James Harden.
Granted, it’s a weird year and Jayson Tatum missed the game due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Games have been cancelled, but that’s life in the “new normal.”
That said, the Knicks haven’t won a game in that fashion–holding a team to below 80 points–in half a decade. They were without one of their top scorers in Alec Burks and gave big minutes to rookies Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley.
The loss was a problem, and given the Nets’ recent coup of three of the game’s best isolation scorers to form a seemingly playoff-proof trio, the Celtics should seriously consider countering that deal.
As it stands, the roster looks capable of making the Eastern Conference finals if things break the right way, but the Nets, Bucks and even 76ers appear to be more legitimate locks to represent the east in the NBA Finals.
If a deal is considered by Danny Ainge and co., the Houdini sees these four players as the prime suspects to be dealt:
Tremont Waters
After drafting Payton Pritchard–and Pritchard turning out to be even better than his draft position would have indicated–the Boston Celtics now have considerably less of a need for Tremont Waters on the roster.
The LSU product has value around the league, though, and can contribute in a situation that emphasizes his playmaking more than his shooting. A team like Dallas or Toronto can use a secondary playmaker off the pine.
Tristan Thompson
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes floated the idea of the Boston Celtics regretting the signing of Tristan Thompson…and his reasoning was solid:
"Opponents are feasting at the rim with Thompson in the game, getting to close range more often and converting at alarming rates. Inside six feet, players are hitting 74.4 percent of their shots with Thompson as the primary defender. That’s the fifth-highest hit rate allowed in the league among players who’ve defended at least 40 total attempts. Among bigs, only Enes Kanter, Paul Millsap and Marvin Bagley III have been worse deterrents."
That he’s barely outperforming Enes Kanter at double the price tag is disappointing to say the least, considering Kanter is known league-wide as perhaps the worst rim-protector in the association.
Thompson owns one of the largest non-core piece salary, so by default, he should be available for the right price on February 6th (the first day contracts signed this past offseason can be traded) until the trade deadline on March 25th.
Daniel Theis
I’ve personally been out on Theis for a bit, trading him to the Nets the other day. B/R’s Grant Hughes also isn’t high on him, as he wrote this in his piece as well:
"Boston’s defense craters with Thompson and Daniel Theis on the floor, which isn’t what you’d expect from an old-school two-big lineup. Those are supposed to struggle on offense but lock down the lane and suppress opponents’ scoring. That hasn’t happened."
Thompson and Theis had a chance to thrive together, but both look less like viable long-term options than Robert Williams…if the “Time Lord” can ever stay healthy.
Kemba Walker
It may be a controversial opinion, and yes, he did just return.
But trading Kemba Walker is the best path to acquiring a star that can match the impact James Harden will have on the Nets that doesn’t include Jaylen Brown.
And no, that doesn’t mean trading Walker guarantees a player at Harden’s level either. But his $34 million salary is the best option to deal to bring in either one player or multiple to adequately replace his production.
Walker has had success with the Celtics, but from a long-term perspective, his balky knee and depreciating contract (at least relative to Walker’s battle with Father Time) make him an asset that is peaking…or already peaked.
Trading high, considering Walker is still a reigning NBA All-Star starter and 20+ points per game scorer, is Danny Ainge’s best course of action right now.
If you look around the league, shaking things up could be the one way for teams to feel confident going up against Brooklyn in the postseason. Walker could easily be billed as a savior for a team like the Knicks or the Bulls, but he could also fit in Philadelphia alongside (or even in place of) Ben Simmons with Joel Embiid manning the middle and making up for whatever defensive gaffes the undersized point guard makes.