Boston Celtics: C&C lists KAT, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal as trade targets

The NBA fireworks have been mostly coaching-related in the month of July after new Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens fired off the first transactional nuke in his blockbuster swap of Kemba Walker (and draft considerations) for Al Horford and Moses Brown.

Ime Udoka was brought on board as the new leading man on the sidelines at the end of June and has been filing filling up his coaching staff in the weeks since. Stevens still has work to do filling up vacant front office seats in his new brain trust as well.

Player movement has been on a slight pause since the NBA Finals began. And it could take a week or two for the floodgates to open again.

But if and when they do, FanSided’s all-Boston site, Chowder & Champions, believes they can be flung open and some big names could potentially make their way to the northeast for the 2021-22 season and beyond.

C&C listed three potential options, and all three of them would instantly raise the ceiling of the Cs moving forward.

The Boston Celtics should pull the trigger without hesitation on all three.

The first is Karl-Anthony Towns. Having made the postseason just once since being taken with the #1 overall pick in 2015 out of the University of Kentucky, and could well need a change of scenery to press the reset button on his career.

He’s had a laundry list of ailments that have kept him sidelined throughout his Twin Cities tenure, and the emotional toll of the past year could force Towns to seek a move closer to home.

The New York Knicks may be the first team that comes to mind given Towns’ New Jersey roots, but the Cs have an ace in the hole in Jaylen Brown that could trump any package NY can offer.

Next, there’s Bradley Beal. He himself has connections to Boston’s best player, Jayson Tatum, through their mutual upbringing in St. Louis. Their paths could cross should Stevens decide that the gap between he and Brown is worth closing with what Washington would ask for in draft considerations.

A deal wouldn’t be too hard to make given the complete disarray of the Wizards franchise at the moment. The team’s coaching change this offseason could lead to turning the page on the Beal era in the nation’s capital.

Finally, there’s Damian Lillard. Lillard is the oldest of the group, Having just turned 31 yesterday. His addition likely moves the Boston Celtics closest to a title in 2022 of the three, and he’d be another in a long line of All-Star caliber floor generals donning green.

Having accomplished by far the most of the three, Lillard may come at the highest price…unless Portland’s own chaotic state causes him to force the Blazers’ hands and move him this offseason.