It’s trade season, folks, and the Boston Celtics are looking to make moves, according to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
"Late Saturday evening, I received a flurry of texts from multiple executives around the league who said the Celtics were up to something. What they’re up to is unclear, but league sources have long said Boston is searching for upgrades to bolster its wing and big man position."
We here at the Houdini — as we’re sure you’re already aware — are big on the idea of the shamrocks looking to make upgrades via the trade route and, in turn, have been pumping out hypothetical packages to consider since ‘Nam.
To us, we believe that everyone outside of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown should be on the table if it means the team can bring on an upgrade in talent.
While my Co-Expert Andrew Hughes thinks a Kemba Walker trade should be heavily considered, I myself am under the impression that a smaller move should be prioritized.
With this mindset, an idea that would fall into this category is considering the concept of trading their offseason acquisition in Tristan Thompson.
The Boston Celtics should consider moving on from Tristan Thompson
While the veteran big has been solid through his first 20 games of action, averaging 7.1 points and 8.6 rebounds on 50 percent shooting, with the way this Cs team is currently constructed, they might want to consider flipping him and his two-year, $18 million deal for an asset that better fits their scheme.
In lieu of recent Boston Celtics trade buzz, we at HH wanted to jump into the mix and discuss 3 specific Tristan Thompson trades the team should strongly consider:
Boston Celtics trade No. 1) Tristan Thompson for P.J. Tucker
For months now, we’ve discussed the idea of the Boston Celtics pursuing the likes of P.J. Tucker, and have often stated he’d be a great target to use their historic $28.5 million TPE on.
This proposed deal may be the preferred option for the franchise, as Tucker is only making $7.6 million and, should they be able to land him through this route, Danny Ainge can use the TPE elsewhere — hopefully for an upgrade at the five.
The 35-year-old is the best traditional power forward that is realistically attainable this season, and he could find himself starting on this year’s Cs team as soon as he arrives, as they’d love to use a more prototypical four in their rotation.
A great 3-and-D player, the addition of Tucker would be a luxury for virtually any championship aspiring team. Add in the fact that this deal also nabs Boston a competent second-unit scorer in Danuel House Jr. (8.3 points on 35 percent shooting from deep) and you get a nice package for Boston’s scheme.
For the Rockets, they bring on the offensive board gobbling Thompson who could fit in nicely next to Christian Wood and DeMarcus Cousins, while also bringing on a couple of future second-round picks to help them build for the future.