The Boston Celtics now embark on their path to redemption as they start their second half of the season this coming Thursday.
Despite coming into the 2020-21 campaign with high hopes and expectations, the Cs managed to turn themselves into arguably the most disappointing team in the league by the halfway mark.
Sure, one can look to their four-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break as a sign of encouragement, but ultimately this team needs to make some moves soon if they wish to once again legitimately thrust themselves into the championship contender category.
March 25th is a date marked on calendars for both front offices and, frankly, NBA fans as a whole, as it’s the final day in which teams can execute trades in a season.
With the fact that Boston’s own GM Danny Ainge publicly announced he’ll be looking into making some changes, it should come as no surprise that the media believes the team could be in line to make a ‘big move’ between now and the trade deadline.
The Boston Celtics will have many options to choose from at the trade deadline
Though there will likely be many players the Boston Celtics could theoretically pursue come March 25th, recent rumblings suggest Ainge and co. could be interested in dealing for Sacramento Kings forward, Harrison Barnes.
Though his contract has been something which many have scoffed at, it is a popular belief of late that the addition of the 28-year-old could be an ideal scenario to consider for this title-hopeful shamrocks squad.
Today, we present to you the pros and cons of the concept of trading for Harrison Barnes:
Boston Celtics pursuing Harrison Barnes: Pros
When people talk about the idea of Harrison Barnes potentially joining the Boston Celtics, naturally the narrative gravitates towards his two-way skill set.
On the season, the wing finds himself boasting impressive averages of 16.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and just shy of a steal per game on 49 percent shooting from the floor and 39 percent shooting from deep.
At 6-8 with a 6-11 wingspan, a guy like Barnes provides positional versatility for this current Celtics lineup, as he can conceivably play the two to the four and cover all of said positions as well.
Another strong attribute that the ninth-year veteran possesses that could come in handy for Brad Stevens’ squad is his deep postseason resume and, more specifically, his experience garnered whilst winning a championship and going to two NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors.
On the current roster for the Cs, the most seasoned postseason contributors are Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague, both of whom are middling role players.
To bring on a guy with a championship track record who can still produce at a high level could theoretically do wonders for the team as they try to get their season back on track.
Boston Celtics pursuing Harrison Barnes: Cons
Though to some it may not be a huge concern, to us at the Houdini it’s a bit of a problem: Harrison Barnes is a known commodity. By this, we mean, the forward is who he is — a solid player and nothing more.
With the way the league is today, star power wins you championships.
The Boston Celtics already have two current stars of their own in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with a former All-Star in Kemba Walker right beside them but, as things currently stand, this collaboration of talent has fallen by the wayside in comparison to the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers — and we’re just talking about teams in the East.
Sure, one could argue that all this team really needs is another solid rotation player, but is Barnes actually the guy to pursue?
For years now, the biggest weakness within the rotation has been within the frontcourt and, more specifically, at the pivot.
While Barnes’s contract could easily be absorbed into the C’s $28.5 million TPE, wouldn’t it be more resourceful of the front office to go after a guy like Nikola Vucevic, John Collins, or even Lauri Markkanen with such a luxury?
Though the Cs could use for some wing depth, they would benefit from a talent upgrade at either the four or the five even more.
Boston Celtics pursuing Harrison Barnes: Conclusion
At the very least, Harrison Barnes is a solid player who can provide many attributes to a team, especially one vying for championship contention.
Because of this, coupled with his versatility, we see him as a solid option to pursue, so long as it’s for the right price.
While we still stand strong on the belief that making a move for a legitimate star might be the better route to embark on, such a trade will be quite complex and require a lot of moving pieces.
Barnes, on the other hand, can be had for a much lower price than, say, a Bradley Beal or Vucevic.
As we said earlier, the Boston Celtics could use for more depth at the wing for, outside of Tatum and Brown, their options run quite thin, and the veteran could be the ultimate depth grab.
A big plus to doing business with the Sacramento Kings is that, not only could they make a move for Barnes, but they could also look to add on a big man in a potential package as well such as Nemanja Bjelica if they opt to match contracts or, perhaps less popular, bring along Hassan Whiteside and his one-year, $2.3 million contract.
There are many ways in the which the Cs could go about pursuing Harrison Barnes and we here at HH are open to the idea of Ainge inquiring about his availability.