Boston Celtics: 3 tough veteran targets to acquire via trade

Boston Celtics tough veteran target #2: Kelly Olynyk

Celtics fans saw firsthand how tough Kelly Olynyk could be to compete against. He singlehandedly eliminated Kevin Love from the 2015 postseason during Cleveland’s first-round series win over Boston.

These days, he’s serving as the tough veteran piece on a very young Detroit Pistons squad that probably isn’t going anywhere unless Cade Cunningham plans on having a borderline MVP 2021-22 season.

He certainly didn’t get off to the kind of start that would lend credence to that thought, scoring just two points in 19 minutes of play and scoring once in eight attempts from the field in his debut. That said, his Pistons did notch their first victory of the season.

We’re not going to assume that trend continuing, though if Kelly Olynyk is going to continue posting stat-lines like he did (18 points, six boards, and four assists in 28 minutes) against the Orlando Magic on Saturday, Detroit may end up winning more games than anyone expects them to.

That may not be the goal of the franchise by the end of the season, though. The kind of tanking that produced the ‘Process’ era Philadelphia 76ers has been done away with, but teams still shift to youth midseason and often subsequently slip down the standings.

If the Pistons choose to move away from veterans, Olynyk could be had to satisfy Ime Udoka’s desire not to get punked on the floor anymore.

With Jerami Grant and Isaiah Jackson more of a priority than him in Detroit’s future, being the odd man out in Detroit could lead him back to the Celtics much like the circumstances leading to the recent returns of Al Horford and Enes Kanter.