To start out the 2020-21 campaign, the Boston Celtics once again find themselves ranked as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and, more broadly, the entire NBA.
Boasting a record of 10-6 through the first 16 games, the shamrocks hold the second-best winning percentage out east and the fourth-best in the league.
Unfortunately, however, even with these early successes, the oddsmakers still find themselves putting numerous teams ahead of the Cs in regard to the likelihood of coming away with the Larry O’Brien trophy come year’s end.
In their own conference, they often find themselves behind the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and the newly established big-3 of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant in Brooklyn.
Because of this, it is our opinion here at the Houdini that Boston should strongly consider making some moves this season to better position themselves for a run at glory later on down the road.
This can come in the form of many ways, such as free agency, waiting to attack the buyout market, and, our personal favorite route, via trade.
Should they look to make some deals, the first step in the process is, of course, to find a specific trade partner and, over the past few weeks, we have listed a few that could be quality candidates.
Recently, however, a new realistic partner may have emerged in the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Boston Celtics should consider making a deal with NOLA
The Pelicans, viewed as a key team in NBA trade market, are receiving calls on Lonzo Ball and JJ Redick from interested teams and have shown openness to discussing both, per sources.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 26, 2021
More in latest Inside Pass at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/KpLWLLTMZ3
In possession of a few quality players that could soon be viewed as attainable, New Orleans could soon be seen as a realistic trade partner for the Cs.
Today, we present to you two deals Danny Ainge should consider proposing:
Trade No. 1) Boston Celtics land JJ Redick, Pelicans get protected draft capital
This is one of the simplest moves the Boston Celtics could actually make this season that would help better their odds of attaining their first Larry O’Brien trophy is over a decade.
Rumor has it that the New Orleans Pelicans are “open” to the idea of trading away JJ Redick, so let’s have the sharpshooting two-guard make his way to Beantown.
While the Celtics do rank as the fifth-best 3-point shooting team in the league, they also come in ranked 21st in hoisting up such attempts.
Yes, while their conversion rates are pretty solid, they could use more firepower in this department as the NBA is now completely devoted to the long-ball.
Frankly, with this in mind, who better to pursue than one of the greatest 3-point snipers who ever lived?
15th all-time in 3-pointers made and 18th in career 3-point percentage (41.4), JJ Redick finds his skill set wallowing away on this underwhelming 5-10 NOLA squad.
Just last season we saw the veteran post solid averages of 15.3 points on 45 percent shooting from both the field and long-range.
Through five games played this year, Redick’s numbers have diminished greatly, as he is only posting 8.1 points on a lowly 30 percent shooting clip from deep.
That said, this dip is likely attributed to the fact that the playcalling has simply been abysmal for the Pelicans all season, especially when beyond the arc where they rank second to last in both percentage and attempts.
With the Boston Celtics, Redick will certainly find cleaner looks on offense, what with their bevy of talented playmakers drawing a defense’s attention and the superb play calling of Brad Stevens.
When looking at other concocted trade proposals across the media landscape, we’ve found that a majority of return packages consist of an unwanted player grouped together with a lowly second-round pick.
Because of this, we believe that a heavily protected first-rounder could be enough to convince New Orleans to part ways with the 36-year-old shooting guard.
Trade No. 2) Boston Celtics get a haul, Kemba Walker heads to NOLA
The New Orleans Pelicans have recently been linked to rumors suggesting that they may be sellers at some point this season. That said, by no means should one be under the impression they are looking to throw away their season.
When you have the likes of All-Star Brandon Ingram and promising young stud Zion Williamson, that simply isn’t the mindset.
In this deal, we see NOLA make a trade to upgrade at the most important position in the sport as they attempt to improve their chances of winning in the now.
Make no mistake about it Boston Celtics fans, I am a huge fan of Kemba Walker and would love for him to stay put in Massachusets. That said, a package such as the one listed above is something that should be strongly considered by Danny Ainge and co.
After having yet another All-Star campaign last season — 20.4 points, 4.8 assists on 38 percent shooting from deep — Walker has kicked off his 2020-21 season quite nicely, averaging 17 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.3 steals on 35 percent shooting from deep while being on a minutes restriction.
He alongside Ingram and Zion in New Orleans would formulate quite a nice big-3 that, ultimately, would easily find themselves vying for a postseason spot which, at the moment, seems like a long ways away.
As for the Celtics, they land the likes of Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and JJ Redick, players that would make this team — who, mind you, is 9-3 without Walker in the lineup anyway — deeper and more well-rounded.
The pass-first Ball could find himself thriving while running alongside offensive studs like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the starting lineup or, if Brad Stevens wanted to thrust Marcus Smart back into the first-five, have the youngster come off the bench and help run the second-unit.
Though he may not be off to the best start during the early stages of this campaign, he is just one season removed from posting 11.8 points, seven assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals a night on 40 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from deep.
With a little help from the point guard whisperer in Stevens, and when having some pressure come off his shoulders running alongside Tatum and Brown, we could see Lonzo’s efficiency come back to these numbers listed above.
As for Redick and Hart, the Boston Celtics get two new scoring punches to add to the rotation.
We already devoted an entire slide to what JJ would add to the Cs, but Hart is a young (25) and talented two-way scorer who can also grab boards (averaging 7.7 this year) and play solid defense.
On top of this, we also see the Boston Celtics bringing on the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2021 first-round pick to soften the blow of losing their All-NBA/ perennial All-Star point guard.
In the end, the New Orleans Pelicans land an easy upgrade at the one while also establishing their own version of a star-studded trio and the shamrocks get a haul for a player they’ve proven capable of winning without.