H.H. blockbuster mock trade sends Kevin Durant to the Boston Celtics

Thursday afternoon, while we at HH were calmly concocting ways in which the Boston Celtics could go about bolstering their rotation this offseason and, in turn, set themselves up for another NBA Finals run come 2023, the NBA news circuit burst into flames, as Shams Charania of The Athletic dropped an atom-bomb update stating that Kevin Durant has requested out of Brooklyn.

With this, all eyes and attention are fully set on the situation with the megastar, and rightly so.

The news is so captivating, in fact, that, according to NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, within the first hour of this report, literally more than half of the league’s front offices have put in calls with Brooklyn in regard to the possibility of acquiring the wing.

Now, while no specific teams were officially stated in Woj’s comments, many Boston Celtics fans are hoping that Brad Stevens was one of these people inquiring about KD’s situation.

Of course, no matter what franchise the wing winds up being dealt to, Brooklyn is bound to land one of the greatest hauls of all time, and, while every fan believes their favorite team can shell out a tremendous offer, it has been the belief for quite some time now that the C’s could actually offer up the best package.

Of course, the reason why people believe this is due to the fact that Boston would almost certainly have to cough up Jaylen Brown in the process who, at just 25 years old, is an already established two-way All-Star wing currently attached to a rather reasonable contract that will pay him $27.6 million through 2024.

With this, many are already going about and concocting trade scenarios that, in their eyes, would be enough for the Nets to ship Durant out to Boston and, just recently, our sister site, Hoops Habit, came up with a doozy of a deal that could wind up getting the job done.

The exact trade proposed reads as follows:

Admittedly claiming this transaction to be one that would sacrifice their future for arguably a better chance at claiming banner No. 18 within the next few years, writer Jack Simone believes this hypothetical deal would be mutually beneficial for both parties involved:

"In this trade, the Nets would be getting their new face of the franchise in Brown, as well as two young pieces in Williams and Pritchard, who could potentially grow into something more. They’d also get some first, obviously.For the Celtics, this would be their chance to put another true superstar next to Jayson Tatum in hopes of winning a title next year (or in the following years of Durant’s contract)."

Now, on the surface, this deal seems like somewhat of a no-brainer for the Boston Celtics, especially if their main goal is to go all-out and win a title or two within the next few years.

If this is the case, then yes, by all means swapping out Brown (no matter how bad it might hurt), two roles players, and the rights to just three first-round picks for the greatest scorer in league history and one of the best two-way players in the game today should be viewed as somewhat of a steal for the C’s.

After all, we are talking about the idea of a 2x Finals MVP who just posted a whopping 29.9 points,7.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and just shy of a block per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from deep last year in Durant teaming up with one of the game’s brightest budding superstars in Jayston Tatum who just guided his team to the 2022 NBA Finals whilst averaging 26.9 points, eight boards, and 4.4 assists per game and earned First Team All-NBA honors along the way.

However, there’s also the argument to be made that the partnership between Tatum and Brown should not be given up on, and swapping the latter out for KD could throw away the potential for a legitimate dynasty. 

As things currently stand, the Boston Celtics roster two All-Star wings (arguably the second-most lucrative position in the game today behind only the point guard spot) still on the right side of their 20’s (Brown won’t be 26 until the start of next season and Tatum only just turned 24).

Despite their obvious youth, the duo already have managed to muster up an astounding amount of success while running alongside one another, seeing three Eastern Conference Finals appearances and coming within just two victories of actually winning an NBA championship throughout their five-year partnership.

Now, we understand that their NBA Finals loss from two weeks ago still may sting, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that this league does not always give instant gratification.

The vast majority of the association’s greatest players didn’t wind up winning their first titles until their late 20s and even beyond that, with prominent examples including Michael Jordan (28), LeBron James (27), and, yes, even Durant (28).

So while many may want to see the Boston Celtics take home their league-leading 18th Larry O’Brien Trophy as soon as next season, and believe that adding KD brings them closer, considering he’s 33 years old and soon to be past peak, this may be as high as their ceiling could go with such a transaction that Simone has proposed.

However, if they hold onto the Jays moving forward and continue to stockpile talent around them–maybe even add on a third star to their core–, we could realistically see several championship banners on the horizon.

As the old saying goes, patience is a virtue and, perhaps by sticking with a core of Tatum and Brown instead of Tatum and Durant, things will wind up paying off in a major way for the Celtics down the road.