With James Harden gone, the Houston Rockets are moving in a new direction. That hasn’t necessarily meant that the team is rebuilding–quite the opposite actually, with Houston having won six games in a row–but Tucker was a piece who originally signed on the dotted line in Houston to play alongside Chris Paul and Harden. With all of that said, where do the Boston Celtics come into play?
Well, with the team needing a traditional power forward after miscasting Daniel Theis at the 4 to start the season, the price for Tucker (a potential glove fit in Boston) has been revealed:
"“The word on the street that I heard that has been floated [for his value]: they either want a first-round pick or three seconds, which I’ve never heard that arithmetic done. Three seconds … There are fifteen teams that are somewhat impacted from trading firsts and eight who can’t really trade any, sort of narrows the market. Most of the competitors, most of the teams who are playoff teams this year, are encumbered from trading their pick.”"
While Danny Ainge has only given up a first-round pick in recent years to acquire Kyrie Irving–one of the league’s premier superstars–perhaps he realizes the weight of the current moment.
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets are the top dogs in the east, but both have their flaws to be exploited. Brooklyn has the #28th-ranked defense, and while the Sixers rank in the top 10 in points allowed, their perimeter defense can be exploited, ranking in the middle of the pack in both 3-pointers allowed and opponents’ 3-point percentage (12th, 15th respectively).
*Stats provided by lineups.com.
Tucker should be prioritized as a target over someone like J.J. Redick, and the Houdini put together the following packages to get a deal done for Tucker:
Why the Boston Celtics do it
For the Celtics, acquiring the defensively stingy P.J. Tucker and David Nwaba would be an excellent way to combat the offensive arsenals possessed by the Nets and the Sixers.
In a matchup against Philadelphia, Tucker could body up Ben Simmons or Tobias Harris in the half-court, while David Nwaba could be deployed as a Tyrese Maxey specialist in the second unit.
Against the Nets, Tucker could switch onto Harden or Durant whenever either of the former Thunder/current Nets teammates decides to post up on the block. Nwaba was actually a useful contributor for Brooklyn last season before he tore his Achilles and was later cut.
The duo would be worth giving up a first-round pick for.
Why the Houston Rockets do it
Just because I trade Daniel Theis at least once a week, and oftentimes include Carsen Edwards as well, doesn’t mean they don’t have value. Obviously, the first-round pick is the main draw for Houston here, but the duo is far from filler in this scenario.
Theis could help fortify the big-man rotation, while Edwards could find more shot opportunities in an offense with one of the NBA’s premier setup men in John Wall running the show.
Why the Boston Celtics do it
If Danny Ainge can simply meet the Rockets’ price for P.J. Tucker by offering three future second-round draft picks…he better.
In recent years, Ainge’s reluctance to deal or make any sort of transaction during the season has cost the Cs come playoff time. While it can be forgiven why the team lost in 2017 and 2018 in the Eastern Conference finals–they sort of ran into an inarguable top two player to ever grace the hardwood in LeBron James smack dab in the middle of his athletic prime–their ECF loss to the Miami Heat could have been avoided had there been any effort to beef up the bench.
Acquiring Tucker would accomplish that by way of pushing Marcus Smart to the second unit or having Tucker add his brand of veteran toughness to a bench that is comprised of mostly recently drafted blue-chippers.
With Payton Pritchard, Aaron Nesmith, Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, and Robert Williams all on rookie-scale deals, there is minimal room to add more talent via the draft unless Ainge wants to perpetually be “a season or two away”.
Why the Houston Rockets do it
Well, this package does meet the criteria mentioned by Brian Windhorst. Three second-round picks is a high price to pay for almost any franchise, but the Cs are so talent-rich right now that those picks hold minimal value on the Boston roster.
Houston can get good value here for one of the last vestigials of the Mike D’Antoni era.