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2 offseason trades Boston Celtics must make if they win 2022 NBA Finals

By Mark Nilon

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 02: Terrence Ross #31 of the Orlando Magic looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on January 02, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 02: Terrence Ross #31 of the Orlando Magic looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on January 02, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
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Boston Celtics (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images) /

Boston Celtics offseason trade No. 1) C’s land a 2022 first-round pick

Since finding themselves in possession of 18 total first-round selections in an eight-year time span (2012-2020), the Boston Celtics have gone on to shell out their limited capital in this area on the board, trading the rights to their No. 16 pick from the 2021 NBA Draft to the OKC Thunder as part of last summer’s Kemba Walker-Al Horford swap and, most recently, sending their 2022 draft rights to the San Antonio Spurs in the Derrick White deadline deal.

Because of this, as things currently stand, the next time the C’s will have a chance to take to the podium to select a first-round talent will be in 2023.

However, during this upcoming offseason, Brad Stevens could work his magic and halt the team’s draft draught at just one year.

Obviously, should the C’s win the championship this season they should not then be hell-bent on making major shakeups this summer, meaning that the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, Grant Williams, Al Horford, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard should presumably be viewed untouchable.

Having said that, right on the outskirts of this aforementioned eight-man group resides an intriguing player who, if shopped in the right manner, could go on to net the franchise more value than he currently provides for the team.

That player: Aaron Nesmith.

Selected 14th overall back in 2020, the Vanderbilt star has yet to live up to the lofty expectations that came with him upon entering the league. Once viewed as one of the best scoring talents and arguably the best shooter in his respective class, Nesmith has yet to fully piece together his high-potential skill set at the next level.

Sure, he’s certainly gone on to show glimpses from time to time during his two-year tenure with the Celtics, but, given that they’ve been a win-now team since coming aboard, finding the time and the attention that is necessary for a young talent to hone their craft at the next level has undoubtedly been hard to come by for the 22-year-old.

At this point, perhaps the best way for him to reach his full potential would be for the front office to ship Nesmith off to a rebuilding team, where he would be provided with the tutelage he needs in order to develop.

Enter: the OKC Thunder.

Flush with more draft capital than they can ever use, it’s evident that Oklahoma City is in it for the long game as they try to fill their roster up with high-potential talents.

Already they have two young studs within their arsenal in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddy, but the rest of their rotation is still being tinkered with and tested.

Perhaps Aaron Nesmith could be a nice new guinea pig to take part in the experiment.

As we stated, just two years back he was coming off a tremendous final year at the collegiate level where he was averaging 23 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and just shy of a block per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 50 percent shooting from deep.

Because of this production, even with his campaign being cut a bit short due to injury, NBA scouts deemed him to be a no-brainer lottery talent and, even though he has yet to live up to this status, as mentioned both in this piece as well as one pushed a few days ago, he has indeed shown flashes of true two-way potential in this league:

"Be it when he averaged 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds on 42 percent shooting from deep when receiving 20+ minutes per game during his rookie campaign, during this past Summer League where he boasted averages of 17.4 points and 6.2 rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field in 26.7 minutes, or in the preseason where he posted 10.8 points on 53 percent shooting from the floor and 50 percent shooting from deep in 17.1 minutes the 22-year-old has proven to have the ability to look quite impressive when given extended run."

On a team like the Thunder, Aaron Nesmith would be given far more opportunities to prove himself than he has received thus far in Boston.

For a measly late first-round pick in this year’s draft (the last pick, the be exact) Sam Presti would be netting a player who, not so long ago, was viewed as one of the best talents in his class.

Considering that they still have the rights to two other selections outside of this, we at the Houdini say it would a move well worth making for the Thunder and, in turn, it would give the Celtics a way back into the first round in the 2022 draft.

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