Boston Celtics: 2 Damian Lillard alternatives to pursue mid-season

Boston Celtics Damian Lillard alternative #1: De’Aaron Fox

The Sacramento Kings have been drafting against the interests of their star point guard De’Aaron Fox the past two seasons in a way that is eerily reminiscent to what they did to DeMarcus Cousins back during his Sac-Town run.

For Cousins, he had to watch the Kings draft Willie Cauley-Stein, Georgios Papagiannis, and Skal Labissiere in the first rounds of the 2015 and 2016 NBA Drafts before being traded at the 2017 trade deadline.

Fox just watched Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell get selected consecutively in 2020 and 2021, right after Fox signed an extension set to kick in. Could history be repeating itself?

It just may be. Fox is now up to that Cousins level of scoring (25 ppg in 2020-21) and has raised his faciliation numbers to over seven dimes per game. Now could be the time to cash in on his value, especially considering he hasn’t broken their postseason drought.

No matter what package it takes to land Fox, it’s worth looking into such a deal before considering parting with Jaylen Brown. He fits the timeline of the Jays to a T and can set a breakneck pace for Ime Udoka, who is coming from coaching the high-octane Brooklyn Nets offense.