Boston Celtics: “Pass or Pursue” on 3 of C’s top offseason targets

Boston Celtics offseason target No. 3) Bradley Beal

Like Buddy Hield, Bradley Beal has been a name long linked to the Boston Celtics as being a potential trade target, and, come this summer, we can’t imagine things to change on this front.

One of the best offensive weapons in the league today, the 28-year-old’s talents have unfortunately been wallowing away with the lowly Wizards over the past few seasons, as they’ve only managed to make the playoffs just one time since 2017-18 and, without him for a large chunk of this year (went down in late January with a wrist injury), finished with the fourth-worst record in the east at 35-47.

Because of all this, fans and media pundits alike have been pushing the narrative that, in order for him to reach his full potential and achieve actual success, Beal must part ways with Washington and, with this, the rumblings have seemingly been non-stop when it comes to the concept of him making his way to Boston.

In his recent piece, Buckley only continued to drive this narrative home, stating it to be “impossible not to draw a line between Beal and Boston” should the All-Star not re-up with the Wiz in free agency.

"“The three-time All-Star’s friendship with fellow St. Louis native Jayson Tatum is well-documented, so as long as Tatum is a Celtic, the Beal-to-Boston speculation will remain alive,” NBC Sports Boston’s Darren Hartwell wrote in January. The Celtics would need to jump through a few financial hoops to make this happen, but a player of Beal’s caliber might be worth the effort. This was a down season for the scoring guard, but he still pumped in 23.2 points per night while dishing a career-high 6.6 assists."

As has been the case since the 2010s and onward, Big 3’s (for the most part, at least) appear to be all the rage.

From the infamous Miami Heat teams with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh to the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday, the more star power a team has proven to generally lead to greater odds of success and, should the Boston Celtics not wind up hoisting banner No. 18 into the rafters back at TD Garden by year’s end with the Jays leading the way, they may opt to go all-in come next season and formulate a new-age star-studded trio by acquiring Beal via summer blockbuster.

Simply put, while there are plenty of pros that would come with bringing Beal aboard this summer (adding that highly coveted third scorer; making Tatum happy by teaming him up with a long-time friend), there are certainly a few cons that would come with such an exchange (could impact both the team’s defensive production and ball movement).

To us, such a move should come down to just how much the C’s would need to part with in order to have this hypothetical become a reality.

Should it be a reasonable price (i.e. heavily influenced by draft capital), then sure, go for it!

However, if the asking price is too steep, and someone like Jaylen Brown is brought up in negotiations, Brad Stevens must bow out.

Verdict: Pursue, but not if it means parting with the bulk of their core