Boston Celtics: “Pass or Pursue” on 2 recently proposed offseason trades
By Mark Nilon
Boston Celtics trade No. 1) Tristan Thompson gets exchanged for draft capital
First up on the docket, we have a trade I, personally, reported on a few days ago and, much to my surprise, many were unaware that I was not the one who came up with the proposal, nor did I even really give my opinion on such an idea.
Today, however, I will!
In this scenario, we see Swartz sending Tristan Thompson down to Buzz City in something of a salary-dumping move for the Cs. In exchange, Boston is seen getting back their own 2023 second-round pick that was sent to Charlotte in last offseason’s Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade.
In Swartz’s opinion, this hypothetical move benefits the shamrocks in both their potential free agency endeavors as well as their development efforts for their third-year big man, Robert Williams:
"Boston has leaned toward Robert Williams III, 23, as the future at the position. The Celtics are already at the luxury tax line for next season, and that’s before any free-agent signings or a new contract for Evan Fournier. The move would clear $9.7 million from Boston’s books and net a future pick—their own that they surrendered in the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade."
Now, we at HH are not necessarily opposed to the idea of trading away Thompson this summer and have even gone about and concocted a few specific trades of our own that land him on the Hornets.
That said, the concept of trading the veteran center who has championship experience, is under contract for just one more season at a cost of less than $10 million, and who posted 7.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game on 52 percent shooting this season for just a second-round pick is a horrendous idea for the Cs to consider.
If Ainge ever opted to trade the likes of Thompson, it would likely be as an add-on to a bigger deal to simply match salaries, not on his own where his value is minimal.
That said, it must be stated, no matter how “minimal” said value may be, Thompson’s services are easily worth more than a measly second-round selection.