With the Kevin Durant sweepstakes in full swing due to a trade request in the hours before NBA free agency officially began, several teams are readying their best trade packages to land the 34-year-old former 2x Finals MVP. The Boston Celtics can put together the best trade package, starting with Jaylen Brown to go along with several first-round picks. That might not be enough to get a deal done, though.
The Brooklyn Nets apparently want more for what the Oklahoma City Thunder got for Paul George from the Los Angeles Clippers–Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and five first-round picks–as well as what the New Orleans got in the Anthony Davis haul from the Los Angeles Lakers — a future-focused package of prospects headlined by Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram that also included Josh Hart and three first-round picks.
Boston was two games away from a championship, so if a haul of Brown, Derrick White, Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard, two first-rounders, and two seconds doesn’t get it done, nothing will (or should). Besides, the Cs weren’t even one of Durant’s preferred trade destinations. Players wield all of the control in the NBA but Boston has done a good job avoiding those types of me-first stars.
The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat are the primary suitors for Durant, but the Heat would have to give up their up-and-coming star center Bam Adebayo (and perhaps Tyler Herro) to get something done. Phoenix also has a burgeoning young big in Deandre Ayton, but he is a restricted free agent and the Suns don’t appear to keen on handing him a contract extension — making him the perfect piece in a Durant sign-and-trade.
The only problem with that is the Nets cannot acquire a player in a sign-and-trade due to being over the $123 million hard cap a team must be under to allow such a deal to be legal under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. On the flipside, the Suns may want to open up their own cap-sheet themselves to accommodate Durant’s remaining $200 million in salary to go with Devin Booker’s remaining $300 million over the next six years and Chris Paul’s $90 million over the next three years. If a Durant deal goes down with Phoenix, these three players could be available, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports:
The Boston Celtics would do well to add a sharpshooter making mid-level money
Seth Curry is one of the best available targets on the trade market, assuming the Nets do end up following through with trading their two stars to blow it all up and pawn off their most coveted role players.
Any player that averages 44% from the 3-point line in his career on over four shots per game should be coveted by any team. Add in a manageable salary ($8.5 million) and you have yourself a no-brainer asset.
Given the fact that any Durant deal could be complicated and could take time to get done, with a level of desperation on both Phoenix’s and Brooklyn’s end, Curry could be had for far less than what it should take for a player of his caliber.
Cam Johnson could command big money next summer, but might be worth trading for anyway
Cam Johnson spectacularly made an efficiency jump in 2021-22, upping his 3-point conversion rate almost eight percentage points and finishing last season with a 46/42/86 shooting slash. Of course, opportunities in the desert would dry up with Kevin Durant in town, possibly suppressing his free agent value.
The 26-year-old isn’t the youngest prospect, so his next contract could be his one chance at a life-changing contract. Winning a championship could be the easiest and quickest way to proverbially ‘get the bag’ in the summer of 2023.
The Boston Celtics offer one of the best chances outside of the Bay Area to win a title next season, and could use a long-term replacement to Al Horford at power forward with a higher ceiling than Grant Williams. Johnson could find a perfect situation with the Cs if the front office were to absorb the forward into one of their TPEs. Johnson’s sub-six million dollar salary makes him a candidate for the $5.9 Dennis Schroder TPE and doesn’t preclude a deal for either of these other two targets.
The Boston Celtics could bring Jae Crowder back
Jae Crowder, like Seth Curry, would need to be absorbed into the Evan Fournier TPE (which is set to expire on July 18th) given his $10 million salary. He’d be worth it for the Cs considering his expiring contract’s lack of long-term money attached.
Crowder is being pursued by the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, and at this point, may be a better P.J. Tucker replacement–he signed a $33 million deal over three years to reunite with James Harden in Philadelphia–in South Beach.
Still, if the Cs find that Crowder is gettable enough to not overpay and outbid Miami, a reunion in Boston would benefit both parties. While his shooting efficiency took a dip last season, he’d still provide a veteran hand off the bench with NBA Championship experience down in the Lake Buena Vista Disney World bubble with Miami.