2 dream trade targets the Boston Celtics could realistically acquire

Boston Celtics target No. 2) John Collins

Despite its ups and downs through the first 45 games of the year, head coach Ime Udoka still is high on the dual big lineup for Boston’s starting rotation and, while for the most part it hasn’t proven to be all that impressive, we actually do understand his desire to go with it, for it has made them an intimidating interior defense to go up against as well as a top-10 rebounding team in the league.

That said, there’s no denying that this lineup has been rather hard to watch from an offensive standpoint, for neither Al Horford nor Robert Williams has shown much from a scoring perspective.

Because of this, perhaps it may be wise of the front office to look into getting a player who can significantly improve their lacking scoring punch within the starting frontcourt, and we believe that John Collins could be the perfect fit at the four.

As recent rumors would have it, there may be some trouble in paradise between the talented big man and the Atlanta Hawks and, should they not start tapping back into their 2020-21 type of success, the front office reportedly could make him available on the open market and, if this winds up being the case, the Boston Celtics should be very interested in a pursuit.

Logging 32.6 minutes per night, Collins is putting up stellar per-game averages of 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, two assists, and just over a block per game on 54 percent shooting from the floor and 44 percent shooting from deep.

The fifth-year pro has proven to be a tremendous athlete with the ability to flush it home at the rim just as easily as he can stroke it from deep and with him in the mix, they’d be inserting a guy with a career 3-point shooting percentage of 39 percent which, by all accounts, would allow Ime Udoka to effectively run this desired big-ball lineup on offense while also not relenting much on the defensive side of the ball.

With him in tow, the C’s offense would absolutely be lethal, as Collins is a three-level scorer who would absolutely make the lives of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown easier, both from a scoring and playmaking perspective.

In the past we’ve discussed the concept of a trade package centered on Marcus Smart could be intriguing for the Hawks to accept due to their need for perimeter defense, secondary playmaking, and underwhelming overplay thus far into the season and, if they continue to slide and Collins continues to be outwardly unhappy, such a deal would only continue to become more and more appealing.