Though the Boston Celtics may just have won their second straight game on Sunday night, this is not to say their tumultuous production on the hardwood has officially ended — not yet, anyway.
Let’s not forget the facts, here: despite this current winning streak, the team still holds just a .500 record of 17-17, they are 5-9 in their last 14 outings, and both of their most recent victories came against middle-of-the-pack teams in their own conference.
In short, this team should still be viewed as a work in progress as we venture towards the All-Star break.
Coming into the 2020-21 campaign, many believed this shamrocks squad would be vying for the top seed, not just in the Eastern Conference, but in the entire league’s standings — when rolling out the second-best wing duo in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown alongside perennial All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, these expectations come with the territory.
However, through the first 34 games of action, the team has fallen short of such lofty projections, and have spent the majority of the first half of the year trying to keep their head above water and stay within the top-8 seeds in the standings (currently residing in the seventh seed).
The Boston Celtics may wish to get involved in a Viictor Oladipo blockbuster
Because of these struggles, it has even forced C’s General Manager Danny Ainge to publicly share his frustration with the team’s efforts, while also acknowledging that the front office needs to look into acquiring more compliments to surround Tatum and Brown with, stating:
"“We need guys who won’t be subservient to them, but guys who will complement them.”"
While there are many ways we at the Houdini believe Boston could go about filling out the roster moving forward, with the recent news that Victor Oladipo turned down a multi-year contract extension with the Houston Rockets, the trade rumor mill has once again found itself spinning, and we believe Ainge and co. should be involved, one way or another.
Today, we present to you 2 blockbuster trade ideas involving the stud-shooting guard that the Boston Celtics should strongly consider pursuing:
Boston Celtics trade No. 1) Cs land Oladipo, Houston continues to rebuild
The prized jewel in any Victor Oladipo trade is, of course, the shooting guard, and here we see him making his way to the Boston Celtics.
In the past, we’ve seen the former All-Star linked to the franchise as a possible TPE target, and, in the eyes of former Celtics forward Brian Scalabrine, he’d be a player that could thrust this roster into a similar stratosphere as that of the Brooklyn Nets.
"“I think if they could make something happen with this trade exception, we could be going into a series with the Nets saying, ‘I like us on paper better than them.’ Right now as constructed, no. But it depends on what they do with this trade exception. I can see how the Celtics could be in a position where we like our chances.”"
Currently, the NBA’s top-tier teams are heavily driven by the star power in which they possess, which is why a move for Oladipo wouldn’t completely shock us here at HH.
Adding the 28-year-old to Boston’s starting unit would easily make them one of the most ferocious lineups in the entire league and, in turn, give them an edge against their opponent on virtually every given night — at least, on paper.
Through 22 games played this season, Victor Oladipo is finding himself posting impressive all-around averages of 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
One of the best two-way players in the game today, the idea of trading for the nine-year veteran becomes a bit more intriguing when considering the fact that his $21 million contract fits right in with Boston’s $28.5 million TPE, which means they don’t have to gut their roster to make a trade work.
That said, in such a deal, the Celtics will obviously have to part with some assets, and here we see them aiding in Houston’s rebuild by shipping over two picks and two young players that they could focus on developing in reigning G League Rookie of the Year point guard Tremont Waters and 2020 lottery selection, Aaron Nesmith.
Boston Celtics trade No. 2) Heat get Oladipo, Houston rebuilds, Cs land 2 talents
Just because we say the Boston Celtics should get involved in the Victor Oladipo sweepstakes, this is not to say we believe they must land the star guard.
On the contrary, we believe that there may be more value in being a third-party in such a deal, as the Cs should obviously considering making moves, but starting wing isn’t necessarily the area they should be looking to bolster, as they already have an egregious amount of talent there.
Because of this, we see the team bringing on Oladipo’s teammate and long-time fan favorite trade target in P.J. Tucker, and Miami Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.
Though perhaps not the two sexiest names to b found in the NBA, both of these aforementioned players would fill 2 major needs for this Celtics team — power forward depth and second-unit scoring.
A great 3-and-D talent to have in a rotation, Tucker would come in as that consistent force at the four on both ends of the court. He’d bring a similar defensive intensity to that of Marcus Smart, while also providing efficient floor-spacing abilities (36 percent career 3-point shooter).
As Boston continues to struggle, they show just how badly they could use a guy like Tucker to come in and serve as that veteran leader both on the court and in the locker room to keep the team in check. With Houston’s apparent asking price of three second-round picks for the power forward, it makes all the more sense for Beantown to make a move for him, and we see them getting such picks here.
In regard to the second commodity we see coming over to don green and white, Duncan Robinson would be an absolute gem to have rolling off the bench for the Boston Celtics.
Through 33 games, the 26-year-old is posting solid averages of 13.2 points and four rebounds on 43 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep.
This team’s bench that ranks 26th in points per game, 29th in 3-pointers attempted, and a middle of the pack 16th in offensive rating could certainly use for a long-range knockdown scorer like Robinson.
For the Miami Heat, they go all-in on trying to retake the Eastern Conference crown for the second year in a row by formulating their own star-studded big-3 of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Oladipo (who has long been rumored to be interested in South Beach).
As for the Rockets, they once again find themselves bringing on a couple of draft picks alongside a few young players in Romeo Langford & 2020 All-Rookie first-team guard Kendrick Nunn to aid in their rebuilding efforts, and the two expiring deals in Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk to help them clear up some cap space heading into this upcoming offseason where, with the emergence of Christian Wood, they could be active participants in free agency.