Boston Celtics: Proposal lands dream target on Cs core’s timeline

If the Boston Celtics were able to pull off the recently proposed trade by ClutchPoints, one that nabs a combo forward able to create plenty of offense as a system slasher and shooter, it’d be the closest thing to ‘winning’ the Danilo Gallinari trade possible — especially if ‘Gallo’ could make it back for any postseason games.

Much in the same way Rajon Rondo was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers this past season after Ricky Rubio’s season-ending injury, Gallinari’s ACL tear could end up forcing Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens to get more creative than he had to be previously in finding a perfect match for his core.

CP’s proposal was one that saw the Celtics utilize their TPE created by the Juan Hernangomez trade this past season to acquire the Orlando Magic’s Chuma Okeke in a swap that’d also see the Cs flip a future first-round and a future second-round pick to Central Florida.

Here were the details from Jedd Pagaduan’s proposal and why the ClutchPoints writer sees this as something both teams should consider:

"Celtics acquire: Chuma OkekeOrlando Magic acquire: Trade exception, 2023 2nd-round pick, 2024 top-10 protected Celtics first-round pick…Okeke could be a tempting trade target for a team looking for another plus defender on the wing who can knock down open shots.Okeke, over his brief NBA career, has shown a penchant for active hands and smart defensive positioning, averaging 1.3 steals for his career in only 25 minutes per game. While he isn’t a knockdown shooter quite yet, Okeke has shown potential, knocking down 1.5 threes on 4.5 attempts per game (32.6%) in his two seasons in the league. With the Celtics, Okeke doesn’t need to do anything off the dribble, offensively. He will be given a chance to fulfill his potential as a swiss-army knife on the wing, who will only be counted upon for timely shooting and defense.The Magic, who drafted Paolo Banchero with the 1st overall pick in the 2022 draft, have a bit of a logjam on the frontcourt, especially with the impending return of Jonathan Isaac. They could look to cash-in now on an asset that might be left forgotten in a deeper team with higher ambitions."

Chuma Okeke is the perfect Juan Hernangomez TPE target for the Boston Celtics

In terms of gettable targets that fit in the Juan Hernangomez TPE, Chuma Okeke is as good as it gets. He hasn’t showed star potential thus far, but that’s not what the Cs need nor was it what they were looking for from Danilo Gallinari.

With the ways the Boston Celtics are built, a system player willing to be ego-less is what the team needs. Okeke put that sort of pliability on display during his playing days under Bruce Pearl at Auburn, so imagining him buying into Ime Udoka’s system is hardly a stretch.

For a future first pick–it cannot be the included 2024 top-10 protected first-rounder due to the Stepien Rule and the Malcolm Brogdon trade, a deal that saw Indiana acquire Boston’s 2023 first-rounder–and a second-round pick, acquiring Okeke would be a hopeful consequence of an unfortunate injury circumstance.