A blockbuster that wasn’t is viewed as biggest “what if” for Boston Celtics

With the way in which the front office has handled things over the past decade or so, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this current Boston Celtics squad has slowly but surely been sculpted quite masterfully, almost as if they were a work of art created by Michelangelo himself.

Ok, maybe they’re not exactly this perfectly constructed, as there are still some minor holes remaining within their rotation that could absolutely use some filling, but, nevertheless, when looking at their main core, fans of the franchise have every reason to be excited about their potential success levels both in the now as well as moving forward.

Spearheaded by the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Boston’s talent pool runs rather deep and, with their collection of ballers, they are viewed by many as having one of the best young cores in the entire association.

Attaining this high-end status was an achievement accomplished through sheer patience and forward-thinking, for there were plenty of instances throughout the last several years where it appeared that the Boston Celtics could trade in their copious amounts of chips in exchange for a chance at instant gratification.

Of course, this never wound up being the case as former President of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge, held strong to his beliefs that the team’s prospects could wind up evolving into some of the best players in the game today and, fortunately, it appears that he was most certainly right.

However, when looking back on things, it’s hard not to think about how things may have turned out should the C’s taken a different approach to their post-Big 3 franchise rebuild.

From the decision to trade down in the 2017 NBA Draft to the pulling out of the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes of 2018, there are a plethora of “what if” moments attached to this storied franchise, particularly over the last six or seven seasons.

However, if forced to choose one as being the “biggest”, Alex Kungu of Hoops Island believes that the Anthony Davis “almost” trade from 2019 would take the top spot.

At least, that’s what Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale has stated.

"The list of options over the past seven or so years is, like, endless. But because I am a monster, I forced Hoop Island’s Alex Kungu to narrow it down. He chose the Anthony Davis transaction that never was.“At the time of AD’s trade request, the Celtics were toeing the line between two timelines. On one side, they had Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford, who were a versatile trio that with the acquisition of Davis would give them the necessary star talent to compete for a title. On the other side, they had Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, a young, talented group with a proven ability to play winning basketball but still a few years away from being relied on to compete for a title.“Though nothing was ever official, there was an understanding that all or at least Tatum plus one of the two would be involved in any Davis trade [when Boston was legally allowed to make one]. Fast forward three years, and Kyrie has left but struggled with staying on the court. Hayward has been similarly plagued with injuries. And Davis, though he won a ring in his first year with L.A., has endured durability issues as well.“For a second, imagine a world where Boston would have to watch Smart develop into a floor general DPOY-caliber point guard, Jaylen turn into an All-Star and Tatum a top-10 player, all while they hitched their wagons to injury-riddled veterans who either couldn’t stay on the court or were already plotting their way out of town.”"

It’s absolutely wild to think about the butterfly effects that could have been generated from these “never came to be” scenarios of days past.

While Davis may have won a title instantly once dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers, by keeping their young foundational players intact the Boston Celtics have managed to see four Eastern Conference Finals trips since 2017 and just clinched their first NBA Finals berth in over a decade.

On top of all this, with the Jays leading the charge, the shamrocks enter the 2022-23 campaign as the favorites to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Los Angeles, on the other hand, ranks in as having the eighth-best odds of accomplishing such a feat.

Now, obviously there’s no telling what may have happened if Ainge opted to execute a deal for AD and pair him up with the win-now foundation of Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford.

Perhaps banner No. 18 would have already been raised into the rafters back at TD Garden. Maybe every single one of these players would have endured similar hardships to what they have over the last several years.

All we can say for certain is that by taking a step back from this trade idea and opting to stand pat, the Boston Celtics find themselves on the verge of a potential dynasty.

Say what you will about the wonders of what could have been, we at HH will gladly take this current timeline any day of the week.

What say you, C’s fans?! Go ahead and leave your thoughts in the comment section below!