A lot has changed in the NBA in the last five years, but a lot of things that have happened were shaped by the blockbuster trade that sent Aaron Gordon to the Nuggets back in March of 2021. AG ended up being the missing piece in Denver, helping them win the 2023 championship and keeping them in contention to this day.
But there are a number of crazy “what ifs” involved in this deal that were rehashed in a great article by Bennett Durando in the Denver Post for the fifth anniversary of the deal. One of the biggest revelations was that the Celtics were in on Gordon, and he was actually surprised when he found out it wasn’t Boston that was acquiring him.
Celtics were on the verge of trading for Aaron Gordon in 2021
In 2021, the Celtics were still trying to build the perfect roster around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and Gordon would have been a great fit. He had familiarity with the team and players from his time in Orlando, and according to Durando, was intrigued by the fit with the young, budding Celtics squad.
We’ll never know how the team would have filled out, but a core of the Jays and AG would have been an incredibly formidable trio of two-way wing talent. Could that team have gotten over the hump with Marcus Smart and Al Horford? It’s certainly fair to wonder.
It’s also fair to say the Nuggets almost certainly don’t win it all without Gordon in the fold, and who knows, maybe without that move, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray would have grown frustrated by now, and that team looks completely different.
Boston got its own version of Gordon a year later
In a lot of ways, the Celtics got a mulligan on Gordon with the Derrick White trade. They are different players, but both guys took on smaller roles with better teams, creating a star version of a role player. They do all the dirty work for their teams and have become two of the most valuable glue guys who impact winning in the entire league.
The Celtics were clearly on the hunt for this type of player, and they missed out on Gordon, but were able to get the guard version in D-White. If they had been able to pull the trigger on the deal for AG, there’s a chance we never see White get traded to the Celtics.
Nuggets nearly traded for Jrue Holiday before Gordon
Another great “what if” goes back to the deadline before Gordon was dealt, when the Nuggets were trying to acquire Jrue Holiday to fill that glue-guy role. They missed out, and Jrue was dealt to Milwaukee, where he helped the Bucks win a title.
The butterfly effect from these moves is pretty crazy, and they all have had a massive impact on the Celtics. If Jrue goes to Denver, maybe he never makes his way to Boston in 2023. If Gordon goes to Boston, maybe they never get Derrick.
Or maybe, it all would have worked out. Maybe AG would have pushed the Celtics over the hump even sooner, and we’d be talking about another Boston dynasty. We’ll never know exactly what would have happened, but it’s a pretty incredible defining moment in NBA history. As it stands, I’d say the Celtics and Nuggets are both pretty happy with how everything ended up working out.