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.
Boston Celtics trade No. 2) Cs finally land Davis Bertans
Like our stance on P.J. Tucker, we’ve been discussing the idea of the Boston Celtics pursuing Davis Bertans for quite a while.
In fact, just recently we brought up how the power forward fits the mold of Ainge’s desire for a “shooter with size”:
"It just doesn’t seem likely that the Washington Wizards will climb out of the Eastern Conference cellar based on who is ahead of them. Hope springs eternal in places like Cleveland and even New York more than it does in D.C. at the moment. Bertans’ 3-point percentage has fallen off a cliff in 2020-21, and his contract is looking a bit too albatross-Esque for comfort. It would look far better as essentially house money for Boston at the moment. Who knows? He may even regain his stroke in green and white."
Yes, as cited above Bertans’ shots aren’t falling as consistently as they have in years past. On the season, the Latvian-born baller is averaging 10.2 points and 2.6 rebounds on just 34 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent shooting from deep.
However, keep in mind, this Washington Wizards squad as a whole is void of consistency (outside of Bradley Beal) and proper play calling, and has certainly impacted the entirety of the team, as they rank 19th in field goal percentage (45.5) and 25th in 3-point percentage (35).
Finding himself in a rotation consisting of Tatum, Brown, and Kemba Walker while being led by head man Brad Stevens will automatically bring cleaner looks on offense and, in turn, could bring his shooting excellence back to life (40 percent 3-point shooter for his career).
Boston Celtics trade No. 3) Team gets more intensity in the frontcourt
Be it at the power forward or center position, one thing’s for sure — if Boston want to better position themselves for a run at the Larry O’Brien trophy by season’s end, they must look to improve their frontcourt.
In our eyes, a way they can accomplish this is considering the idea of dealing for big man Montrezl Harrell, who Bleacher Report has listed as the one player the Los Angeles Lakers NEED to trade this season.
With this in mind, a realistic scenario actually could be dangling the prospect of LeBron James reuniting with Thompson, who served as the starting center during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 championship run and saw four-straight NBA Finals appearances together.
Though not a star, per se, Harrell is an absolute beast on the hardwood who would bring intensity to the frontcourt for the Boston Celtics not seen since the days of Kevin Garnett.
The reigning Sixth Man of the Year is posting solid per-game averages of 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and just shy of a block per game on 64 percent shooting from the field.
While it may be difficult to envision the second-best team in the NBA fresh off a championship trading away one of their core rotation players, flipping him for a “LeBron guy” at the same price while adding on a future first-round pick (top-15 protected) and two seconds might be enough to convince them to pull the trigger.
In turn, Boston would bring on the energizer-bunny big in Harrell to help bolster their frontcourt and increase the intensity for the rotation on a nightly basis.