Why the Boston Celtics would–and wouldn’t–go for B/R’s Magic deals

All eyes have been on Orlando, Florida since the COVID-19 pandemic caused our way of life to fundamentally change last March. The WWE never stopped putting on shows in the city even in the early days of the widespread national shutdowns, and the NBA returned on the campus of Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports complex last summer in O-Town. According to Bleacher Report, the Boston Celtics would be wise to continue to keep their eyes on “The City Beautiful” and negotiate with the Orlando Magic.

In a trade piece focused on coming up with an NBA trade idea for every team heading into March’s trade deadline, B/R’s Dan Favale took aim at Danny Ainge’s poorly constructed roster to hammer home the point that this season is a tumultuous one in Boston:

"Don’t try boiling down the Celtics’ struggles to any one thing. Their issues are widespread.They need at least one more playmaker even when Marcus Smart returns from his right calf strain. They need another reliable wing aside from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. They could use a more dynamic big man. They could also stand to trade a big man or two.Basically, the Celtics roster wants badly for consistency outside its top-five players. And even that might be a generous diagnosis given Kemba Walker’s topsy-turvy season."

With such silver-tongued criticism, you’d think Favale had grand plans for the team to improve. After all, the Cs as is would have to win the play-in tournament to even advance to the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.

Instead, meager deals for role-playing wings was the theme in Favale’s mock trades:

"Trade 1Boston Celtics Receive: James Ennis IIIOrlando Magic Receive: Carsen Edwards, Romeo LangfordTrade 2Boston Celtics Receive: Evan FournierOrlando Magic Receive: 2021 first-round pick (top-16 protection in 2021; lottery protection in 2022; turns into two seconds if not conveyed)"

Let’s break down each deal and why the Cs would–and wouldn’t–consider it:

Why the Boston Celtics could do the proposed James Ennis deal

Danny Ainge’s 2019 NBA Draft class has seriously underwhelmed through a season and a half on the hardwood, and trading away half of the said class to bring on a veteran like James Ennis would be a clean way to let go of those past failures and focus on this year’s postseason push.

Why the Boston Celtics wouldn’t do the proposed James Ennis deal

It may be a bit premature to call the 2019 draft class a bust just yet. While Romeo Langford seems unlikely to contribute this season (or ever), Carsen Edwards has had two 15+ point-performances this season, proving he may have some offensive burst if the Cs ever needed to break the emergency glass case for some scoring.

Why the Boston Celtics could do the proposed Evan Fournier deal

Any sort of offensive help is sorely needed in Beantown and Evan Fournier has averaged over 15 points per game (an arbitrary benchmark for being considered a capable points-producer) the last six years. Adding him without subtracting any rotational players would be a nice use of the C’s TPE created by the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade.

Why the Boston Celtics wouldn’t do the proposed Evan Fournier deal

Giving up what could end up being a lottery pick and using a historic, once-in-a-generation TPE on an offensively-leaning finesse wing is far from the sort of franchise-saving deal Danny Ainge needs to make before the 2020-21 deadline.

Both of these deals are in the right school of thought, but neither one raises the ceiling high enough to part with potentially useful future assets.