The Boston Celtics may not be coming off of their proudest of campaigns, but it still would appear that better days are ahead.
Despite enduring their worst regular-season finish (36-36) since 2014-15 as well as partaking in their first Quarterfinals loss since 2015-16, when it comes to this Cs squad moving forward, there’s a ton left to be excited about.
Obviously, leading the charge in this department is Boston’s young core spearheaded by All-Star wings, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown but even outside of this is the recent buzz that suggests even with their recent tribulations, star players are still very much interested in the idea of donning green and white threads.
Perhaps the most notable talent that has been linked to the franchise of late is Washington Wizards stud shooting guard, Bradley Beal, who is reportedly mulling over the concept of requesting a trade and, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, would ‘welcome a trade’ to Beantown.
"“Beal does not have a proverbial list of preferred destinations, but it was mentioned by multiple sources that he would welcome joining teams such as Boston, Golden State, Miami or Philadelphia…”"
Now, for those of you who are familiar with our work at HH, you’re already likely aware that many at the site are indeed open to the idea of the Boston Celtics trading for the All-Star guard.
Though I, myself, have gone on the record to state that I believe the Cs should steer clear of a deal for Beal this summer — and I stand by my reasons — should the right package present itself, someone of his ilk is certainly hard to turn away from.
Having said that, the right package is rather specific and, in my humble opinion, would have to omit 2 players, in specific, (Jayson Tatum will not be included on this list for obvious reasons) from being dealt down to the nation’s capital:
Untouchable Boston Celtics player No. 1) Jaylen Brown
As mentioned in the previous slide, in the past I’ve gone about and discussed why trading for Bradley Beal this offseason should be avoided by the Boston Celtics, and easily the biggest reason for why is the fact that in almost every hypothetical scenario the Wizards will look to get the likes of Jaylen Brown in return.
To much surprise, we’ve seen many fans of the organization state their openness to seeing a swap take place.
I, personally, am not so entertained by such a transaction.
Aside from the fact that he just put forth his best season as a pro in 2020-21 (24.7 points, six boards, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals), becoming an All-Star in the process, and has already proven capable of beautifully meshing with Tatum, Brown also finds himself attached to perhaps one of the best deals you’ll find in the association.
Signed through 2024 on an average per-year salary of $26.58 million ($107M in total), the 24-year-old ranked 20th in points per game of all players in the association and first in this same category out of those who were drafted the same year as him (2016), placing ahead of the likes of Brandon Ingram ($158M), Pascal Siakam ($136M), and Ben Simmons ($177M).
Now, yes, Bradley Beal is viewed as being a better talent than all of these aforementioned players, including Brown, but when it comes to value (will be making an average of $35.88M a year through 2023), it’s hard to argue him being ahead of the first-time All-Star who, yes, averaged seven-less points per contest, but is known as the superior two-way player and is about four years younger.
Add on the fact that, should Brad Stevens and co. do a quality job of opening their books moving forward, they could theoretically sign him outright when he’s a free agent be it next offseason or during the summer of 2023 (has a player option).
The idea of bringing on Bradley Beal does sound tempting but, all things considered, it may not be worth trading Jaylen Brown to make happen.
Untouchable Boston Celtics player No. 2) Robert Williams III
When it comes to a guy like Robert Williams III, we at HH are by no means under the impression that the Boston Celtics should keep him off the table in all trade talks like a decent amount of fans appear to be.
That said, in this scenario, we don’t believe dealing him in a package for Bradley Beal would be such a great idea for, should Stevens be able to execute a trade that manages to keep Brown — regardless of how unlikely this is, it’s our desire to keep him in tow at all costs –, matching salaries would have to start with Marcus Smart being sent packing.
With the Swiss Army man out of the rotation, they lose their best defender in the process and, with Williams showing the capability of being their second-best option on the less glamorous side of the ball as well as their best rim protector, this shakeup should easily make the soon to be fourth-year center that much more valuable to Boston’s rotation and, thus, should be held onto.
Obviously still rather raw and in need of improvements to certain aspects of his game, Time Lord is a player who, when given ample time and increased roles, has only managed to perform admirably.
Finally getting his chance to serve as a consistent starter this past season, in this role Williams put up quite impressive averages of 9.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game on nearly 71 percent shooting from deep in 23.7 minutes.
In the postseason, during the two full games he played prior to going down in game three due to turf toe, the big man posted averages of 9.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and an incredible 4.5 blocks on 64 percent shooting from the field.
Injuries, of course, have unfortunately become the theme of Robert Williams’ career to this point, but so, too, has his unbelievably intriguing potential in the long term should he find a way to kick this nasty ailment trend.
Heading into the final year of his rookie-scale contract, we at HH believe the big man is certainly worth holding onto — that is, unless a deal is a no-brainer which, in our opinion, is not the case when it comes to Bradley Beal.