This summer has already seen a couple of savvy moves made by the likes of Brad Stevens and co. that, in turn, has made the Boston Celtics an even more menacing unit than they were in 2021-22 when they finished as NBA Finals runner-ups behind the Golden State Warriors.
With the additions of Danilo Gallinari and Malcolm Brogdon, this team now has addressed quite a few areas within their rotation that, in many ways, held them back from winning banner No. 18 last year, with the most notable region of their lineup that was bolstered being their bench, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
However, even with these additions, it is a widely accepted belief that the C’s must still look to make one or two more key shakeups to really set themselves up for ultimate success come next season and, while we have our own ideas as to how they could go about doing this, some are under the impression that they should strongly consider making a major transaction between now and October’s tip-off to really get the ball rolling on establishing a new-look squad.
Easily the biggest name that could be on the move this summer is megastar Kevin Durant who, late last month, shocked the sports world by requesting a trade out of Brooklyn.
Now, while it seems as though the vast majority of Boston Celtics fans–including ourselves–are not in favor of seeing their favorite ball club pursuing a deal for the wing, as the cost would simply just be too much to bear, there are still those out there who think that adding him to this lineup and pairing him with Jayson Tatum would be a fantastic move to make.
Amongst numerous analysts, insiders, and even league representatives, it is believed that, of all the teams that could, in theory, pursue a blockbuster for KD, the C’s would likely be able to construct the most enticing package and, recently, the folks at Sports Illustrated’s Fastbreak came up with what they believe to be the ‘best trade proposal’ that Stevens could send in Brooklyn’s direction.
The exact hypothetical trade concocted reads as follows:
Citing the high upside that a guy like Jaylen Brown possesses, writer Brett Siegel believes that, though the Celtics may not have the kind of draft capital that the Nets may be looking for, considering the caliber of player they’d be receiving in return, Sean Marks could find himself enticed enough to pull the trigger on such an exchange:
"The problem with the Boston Celtics trying to get involved in a trade for Kevin Durant is that they just traded for Malcolm Brogdon and in the process of doing so, they traded away their 2023 first-round pick. This not only means they do not have an immediate draft pick they can send to Brooklyn, but they cannot send their 2024 pick either due to the Stepien Rule.Ultimately, if Boston wants to have a shot at landing Durant, they will need to be willing to part ways with All-Star Jaylen Brown. In this package, only having to give up Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, the Celtics may be willing to do this, but it is hard to believe the Nets will show a lot of interest in this deal because of the lack of draft compensation. Overall though, Brown may be the best All-Star-like talent the Nets could get their hands on."
As we alluded to earlier, to many, the concept of teaming up a player like Kevin Durant with someone of Jayson Tatum’s ilk is a tremendous idea for the Boston Celtics to consider.
After all, we’re talking about a 2x Finals MVP who just posted 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 teaming up with one of the game’s brightest budding superstars 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, as we have stated before, no matter how fun this pairing might seem to be on paper, moving forward it would likely be within the C’s best interest to keep the duo of Tatum and Brown intact, as we went into great detail on why in a piece from a few weeks ago discussing a similar proposal to the one Siegel concocted:
"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…"
With all this in mind, again, though perhaps seeing KD and JT running alongside one another has the makings of being a fun tandem to see on the hardwood, their shelf life would be far shorter than what it could be should they simply hold onto Brown.
Patience is indeed a virtue and, by sticking with a core of Tatum and Brown instead of Tatum and Durant, things could wind up paying off in a major way for the Boston Celtics at some point down the road.
Unless something catastrophic happens that cannot seem to be repaired, the Jays must be kept together at all costs moving forward.