B/R says Boston Celtics wish they could make this trade for Nerlens Noel

This 2022 quarterfinals matchup between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets has been hyped up as having the potential to be an all-time series for weeks now, and Sunday’s Game One matinee wound up furthering this sentiment as it was a back-and-forth, star-studded affair with high-end hustle, top-notch intensity, and incredible plays made throughout.

In the end, it was the C’s who threw the final blow, as budding superstar, Jayson Tatum, managed to win the game at the buzzer with an incredibly clutch spinning lay-in to sneak by Brooklyn by a final score of 115-114.

While Boston did put forth a solid all-around team effort in the exhibition, the absence of Robert Williams III was certainly felt throughout, especially when we saw his replacement, Daniel Theis, getting into foul trouble rather early and struggle in a multitude of other areas during his 20 minutes of play.

Now, even though we at HH are still confident in the 30-year-old’s capabilities of holding things down in the frontcourt while Time Lord recovers from knee surgery, it is hard not to think about who may have been a better option to have had waiting in their reserves for a situation such as this.

Over the months leading up to the conclusion of the regular season, we at the Houdini discussed several big man options we believed the Boston Celtics should have considered pursuing to bolster their rotation behind Williams, be it via the trade market or free agency, and, just recently, the folks at Bleacher Report concocted a trade for one of these talents and stated it to be a move Brad Stevens and co. likely wish they could make.

The exact trade reads as follows:

Citing his similar play style to Robert Williams, writer, Greg Swartz, believes that having the eighth-year big in their rotation could have been an ideal scenario in a situation such as the one they’re currently facing:

"Noel is built in the same model as Williams, a somewhat undersized shot-blocking center who can cover all areas of the court and make a major impact without having to score.He’d also be the perfect backup to Williams moving forward, able to step into the starting lineup and allow the Celtics defense to avoid taking a major step back without its starting anchor."

Frankly, assuming in this alternate universe that he was healthy (missed a large chunk of the season with leg injuries himself), we at the Houdini couldn’t agree more with Swartz’s take. In fact, just recently, we pegged the 28-year-old as someone the Boston Celtics would love to have in tow moving forward.

Perhaps this summer they can somehow make this move happen.