Boston Celtics wouldn’t have traded for 6MOY had they drafted Lakers star: Analyst
The Boston Celtics wouldn’t have traded for reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon had they drafted Los Angeles Lakers and Team USA star Austin Reaves instead according to CelticsBlog’s Adam Taylor.
“Boston probably wouldn’t have traded for Malcolm Brogdon last summer. Reaves’ ability to score, facilitate, and work off-ball, coupled with Pritchard’s floor spacing, likely removes the need for Brogdon despite his clear talent,” Taylor wrote.
The Reaves rabbit hole is deep. There are very few players around the league who’d better fit the tertiary role in the Celtics’ offense behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — and the fourth option now after the Kristaps Porzingis trade — given how well he has acquiesced to the Lakers’ offense behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Had Reaves developed at the same rate in Boston that he did in Los Angeles, one has to wonder if Reaves would have more playmaking opportunities with the Cs since there hasn’t been a ball-dominant ball-handler for the past several seasons. And there still isn’t.
Austin Reaves could have been part of Boston Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis trade: Analyst
Taylor’s hypotheticals extended beyond passing on a Brogdon trade in the summer of 2022, with the CelticsBlog writer hypothesizing that Reaves could’ve been a part of the Porzingis trade too. Or that Payton Pritchard would already be donning a different uniform.
In truth, it’s difficult to go that far, since it’s possible that the Boston Celtics could’ve won either of the past two titles with the perfect triple-threat wing running alongside Tatum and Brown in tow. But it’s well within reason that the front office would’ve avoided getting rid of fan-favorite Marcus Smart to acquire Porzingis and keep as much of the team’s long-term core intact.
Basically, Reaves would’ve taken every role Brogdon now has, though the Los Angeles Clippers probably wouldn’t have gone back on taking the Arkansas native as they did with Brogdon.