Hardwood Houdini
Fansided

Boston Celtics: 3 trades that could save C’s season

By Mark Nilon

May 31, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (25) reacts after the basket during the first quarter against the Washington Wizards during game four in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
May 31, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (25) reacts after the basket during the first quarter against the Washington Wizards during game four in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Boston Celtics (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /

Boston Celtics bring on an upgrade at power forward

Like their bench unit, another problem that has plagued the Boston Celtics over the past several years has been their lack of legitimate options at the power forward position.

Because of this, the coaching staff has had to get creative, as they’ve either gone about and slotted in Jayson Tatum at the four or, in regard to this season, have veteran Al Horford play the position, making up the dreaded dual-big frontcourt lineup alongside Robert Williams III at the five.

Though each of these aforementioned experiments has actually seen some decent levels of success from time to time, this should not mean that Boston should be content with what they have at power forward.

With this in mind, we believe that the team’s decision-makers should strongly consider pursuing a better fit for the position via the trade market, and Sacramento Kings forward, Harrison Barnes, could be an excellent grab.

Dating back to the beginnings of last season, many have discussed the concept of the Cs trading for the 10-year veteran, with his impressive scoring abilities, strong defensive versatility, and championship experience all being oft-mentioned talking points for why he could be a good fit with the Celtics.

Despite Sacramento’s pedestrian start to the season, Barnes actually finds himself having some great individual success thus far, boasting a stellar stat line of 23.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 49 percent shooting from the floor and 45 percent shooting from deep.

Slotting him into the starting lineup would give the Jays a great tertiary scoring option as well as a reliable defensive commodity and would also allow Ime Udoka to confidently axe the dual-big lineup altogether, relegating either Al Horford or Robert Williams (most likely Horford) to the bench.

In exchange, the Kings would receive two salary matching players in Josh Richardson and Juan Hernangomez, a lottery-protected future first-round pick, and, though it may be hard for some fans to hear, Aaron Nesmith who has seemingly thrust himself into the C’s dog house (why we’re not entirely sure) but should easily still be viewed as a quality building block to have to surround and to develop alongside the likes of De’aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, and Davion Mitchell.

Home/Celtics News