As rumor has it, the Boston Celtics are looking into ways in which they can trade themselves into the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, as the rights to their own first are owned by the San Antonio Spurs as a result of the midseason deal that brought Derrick White to Massachusetts.
According to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, the C’s are one of several teams reportedly vying for the Golden State Warriors’ No. 28 pick in Thursday night’s festivities. Along with them in this endeavor are the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic.
Now, of all three of these teams, it’s evident that Boston has the least to offer in a potential deal to land the Dubs’ selection.
After having made it all the way to within two wins of claiming banner No. 18 in this year’s NBA Finals against Golden State themselves, Brad Stevens and co. should be focused on making smaller, yet savvy moves this offseason, and a trade for this pick would almost certainly cost too much when in comparison to what they’d likely be getting back in return.
However, just because this particular idea may be a bit too far-fetched, this is not to say that the Boston Celtics still can’t wind up nabbing a first-round pick, and we believe this trade with the Houston Rockets could accomplish exactly this:
Like the shamrocks, the Warriors are a team looking to continue their pursuit of glory come 2022-23 and beyond. Because of this, any deal Bob Myers pursues will have to include commodities that can help aid in Golden State’s quests almost immediately.
Boston does, in fact, roster many of these types of talents, but they need to keep them in tow for themselves in their own efforts of trying to get back onto the big stage of the championship round.
Because of this, should they be hell-bent on pursuing a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, they should strongly consider dangling one of their more youthful, rookie-scale talents in the direction of rebuilding ball clubs flush with selections galore, and one potential pairing could be Aaron Nesmith and the Houston Rockets.
In the past, we at HH have discussed how these two parties could work out a deal involving the wing heading southbound to Space City, and draft night could prove to be the time where a move finally gets made.
As has always been our opinion on Nesmith, he’s a highly talented prospect who needs plenty of tutelage and minutes if he wishes to reach his full potential. We’ve seen his skills shine through on numerous occasions throughout his tenure in the association when given the proper amount of time and attention.
From the 8.6 point and 5.1 rebound averages on 42 percent shooting from deep when receiving 20+ minutes per game during his rookie campaign, during the 2021 Summer League where he averaged 17.4 points and 6.2 rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field in 26.7 minutes, to even during the 2021 preseason where he posted 10.8 points on 50 percent shooting from deep in 17.1 minutes we’ve witnessed the 22-year-old showout and look quite impressive when given extended run.
Unfortunately, these types of opportunities have become far too infrequent with the win-now Boston Celtics and, as a result, it has been hard for Aaron Nesmith to find his groove at the next level.
That said, on a team playing the long game in hopes of a brighter future, the third-year baller could easily find himself coming across ample minutes on the hardwood, and the Rockets could very well be the team to provide him exactly this.
Already in possession of the No. 3 and No. 17 picks on the night, one could assume that their No. 26 selection could be one worth dangling for a trade of arguably greater value, and perhaps swapping this late-first in for a highly-touted, lottery-selected wing from just two years ago could be quite an intriguing move for Rafael Stone to make.
For the Boston Celtics, parting with their project talent in Nesmith could end up netting them their reportedly desired first-rounder in the 2022 NBA Draft where, in turn, they could go on to select any number of high-upside prospects, particularly one of our favorites in the polarizing big man from Serbia, Nikola Jovic, who, in many mocks, is projected to be available around the 26th pick.