Boston Celtics could pursue Luka Doncic given previous superstar pursuit: Analyst
The Boston Celtics could pursue Luka Doncic given their previous interest in a Kevin Durant trade — this at least according to CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn, who ranked every team in the NBA by how likely they are to land the 24-year-old Slovenian star and had the Celtics at No. 7. That ranking is interesting since the C’s No. 7, Jaylen Brown, would be the player Boston would entice Dallas with to part with their 4x All-Star floor general.
As Quinn notes, it’d only make sense for the Celtics to attempt to bring on the healthy and young former NBA Rookie of the Year considering they were reportedly in on a 34-year-old seven-footer a few years removed from an Achilles tear.
“If the Celtics were willing to explore a Jaylen Brown-for-Kevin Durant swap last summer, they’d be willing to consider a similar deal for Doncic,” Quinn wrote.
How the Boston Celtics could pull off a Luka Doncic trade
As previously mentioned, no Boston Celtics trade for Doncic would be able to go down without Brown. With that said, as Quinn writes, it’d take several prerequisite steps before the Cs could be in a position to pull the trigger on such a deal.
“This is a somewhat messy situation for the Celtics to practically navigate,” Quinn wrote. “Brown has made it clear that he’s sensitive to the frequent trade rumors that have followed him for his entire NBA career. If Brown hasn’t already signed a contract extension by next summer, the Celtics probably wouldn’t risk approaching him about a sign-and-trade to Dallas because that would send him a message that they don’t want him back, compelling him to potentially leave as a free agent. Boston would have to get Brown signed to an extension this offseason (which is suddenly possible thanks to the new CBA), but if he’s under contract and the Celtics haven’t won a championship in either 2023 or 2024, the idea of exploring a Brown and picks for Doncic swap makes plenty of sense.”
Banner 18 puts these talks to bed immediately, but in an ever-evolving NBA — and with the spotlight shining bright on the C’s duo of Brown and Jayson Tatum –, anything else only intensifies the rumor mill.
Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum would be ‘ideal offensive pair’
Losing Brown would do serious damage to the Celtics’ defensive identity, but a Boston offense ran by Doncic could be historically great. Quinn believes Doncic and Tatum would make for an “ideal offensive pair.”
“Doncic and Jayson Tatum are an ideal offensive pair,” Quinn prefaced before saying, “Doncic would cover up Tatum’s playmaking deficiency while Tatum would become a significantly more efficient scorer with defenses focused on a teammate.”
It’s unclear if the tradeoff defensively would be worth the offensive overhaul, but according to Quinn, the Celtics have already put themselves into the Doncic conversation by partaking in the KD hysteria in the summer of 2022.