It appears that a new agenda may have been set into place at the February 10th NBA trade deadline by Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens.
This, of course, is the renewed Bradley Beal agenda following a midseason collapse from the Washington Wizards in the wake of one of the hottest starts in the Eastern Conference in 2021-22.
MassLive’s Brian Robb listed the team’s two marquee trade deadline acquisitions, Derrick White and Daniel Theis, as well as Cs veterans Marcus Smart and Al Horford players that could be included in a Beal deal.
Per his latest Boston Celtics Mailbag:
"The Celtics have plenty of matchable salary (Horford, White, Theis, Smart) along with guys on rookie deals to make the math work. A combination of those players plus significant draft compensation is likely the package that will be offered if the team makes a serious run at Beal."
Bradley Beal would need to force his way to the Boston Celtics in such a deal
The Cs won’t have the best assets available in a Bradley Beal trade. Other teams will have more youth to give in such a swap, with the Cleveland Cavaliers standing out as a roster that has more attractive tradeable pieces (Isaac Okoro, Lauri Markkanen).
Brad Stevens may need to start shifting to not trading away future draft picks, which is something he has grown fond of during his debut season as the Celtics front office leader.
The likelihood of a Beal trade isn’t incredibly high barring the St. Louis native forcing Washington’s hand and demanding a trade to Boston to team up with his good friend Jayson Tatum in the process.
That said, given the way the stars of the NBA behave, don’t rule that out by any means. 2022 is already off to a wild start in the Association’s transaction cycle.