As we now come to within 10 days of the March 25th NBA Trade Deadline, the trade rumor mill has begun to pick up speed and Boston Celtics fans have found their favorite franchise’s name flowing within it.
For the most part, when the Cs have been involved in trade topics, we’ve seen proposals discussing who they may want to consider trading for in an effort to help better bolster their roster as we inch closer to a postseason push.
However, recently a different narrative surfaced as Chris Hayes of Yahoo Sports went about and reported that Danny Ainge and co. may be willing to play the role of “sellers” in regard to some of the team’s assets, and listed Tristan Thompson, in specific, as a player the shamrocks could be interested in shopping:
"League sources said the Boston Celtics could trade their starting center by the March 25 trade deadline, with the Toronto Raptors being a possible destination. Thompson is averaging 7.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in his first season with the Celtics after signing a two-year, $19 million deal that includes a player option in the second year."
The Boston Celtics could find a few teams vying for Tristan Thompson’s services
Though perhaps viewed by some front offices as an aging big man with a limited skill set, to others the attributes in which Tristan Thompson provides could certainly come in handy.
While we don’t necessarily expect all 31 other teams in the league to line up and try to attain the 10-year veteran come the deadline, the Houdini sees a few specific organizations as viable trade partners involving the Boston Celtics center:
Boston Celtics trade partner No. 1) Toronto Raptors
As Hayes cited in his quick snippet on the idea of Thompson being traded, the Toronto Raptors could be a realistic destination for the 20-year-old.
Though the 2019 NBA Champions are residing in the 11th seed out east, they are only three wins back from the fifth seeded Boston Celtics, which means they are by no means out of the playoff hunt. Should they look to stregthen some of their weak spots within the rotation, they could easily catapolt themselves back into the mix and playoff contenders.
One of their most well documented weaknesses is in their frontcourt, specifically at the pivot.
Tristan Thompson would easily be a welcomed comoddity to the Raptors at the position, be it coming off the bench or, better yet, as a starter to replace the underperforming Aron Baynes.
Boston Celtics trade partner No. 2) Charlotte Hornets
Over the past couple of seasons, the Charlotte Hornets have become a consistent trade partner for the Boston Celtics. In 2019, it was the sign-and-trade that sent Kemba Walker to Beantown. In 2020, it was the sign-and-trade that brought Gordon Hayward to North Carolina.
Now, in 2021, perhaps the two parties can keep the ball rolling with a move intolving Tristan Thompson.
When Hayward opted to head to Charlotte for a lucrative $120 million deal, many deemed it to be one of the worst signings of this past offseason, with Bleacher Report going as far as to say it was the worst.
Now, through 33 games played, it appears as though the forward has managed to live up to his pay day thus far — something, unfortunately, Cs fans were not able to say during his time spent in Massachusetts –, posting averages of 21 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 41 percent shooting from deep.
With his play alongside the emergence of Rookie of the Year front runner LaMelo Ball, the Hornets find themselves in the sixth seed out in the Eastern Conference standings at 19-18 and, in turn, look to be in a legitimate position to snap their four-year playoff drought.
To strengthen their odds of such an occurence, however, they’ll likely want to bolster their lackadasical frontcourt rotation. Because of this, Thompson, who was the starting center of the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers while also having played in three other Finals apperances in such a role, could be a cheap and intruiging option for the franchise to consider.
Boston Celtics trade partner No. 3) Phoenix Suns
Like the Charlotte Hornets, the Phoenix Suns are a team that could be interested in potentially dealing for the likes of Tristan Thompson at this year’s deadline to bolster their big man depth for their imprending playoff push.
Unlike Charlotte, however, the idea of bringing on Boston Celtics big Tristan Thompson does not involve the Suns thrusting him into large sums of minutes, as they already have a young stud center down low in DeAndre Ayton at their disposal.
That said, even with their double-double machine maning the paint, the Suns could certainly use for more firepower down low, and Thompson could serve as exactly that.
Sure, they mave have Dario Saric and Frank Kaminsky in tow, but neither of them are realistic options to plug in at the five, especially when it come to important stretches like the ones they’ll be taking part in during this upcoming postseason.
At this point, the narrative is that Phoenix is good enough to be in the conversation for a championship bid come year’s end.
Perhaps their biggest weakness, however, is at backup center.
TT could be the ideal trade target for this incredibly effective Suns squad.