The Boston Celtics have the best roster in the NBA. That much was proven when they waltzed their way to a championship last year, and they’re bringing the same group back for next season. Boston’s roster is so perfect, that any sort of trade seems illogical. That’s just the nature of their roster.
But Bleacher Report still tried. Grant Hughes wrote an article detailing the best potential trade targets for every team in the league. Coming up with names is easy for squads like the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Those teams have tradable assets. The Celtics don’t have the same luxury, so finding names is difficult.
And the top target listed would be a complete disaster.
A Celtics trade for Myles Turner makes sense... until it doesn't
Hughes listed Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner as the Celtics’ top potential trade target this season. Adding Turner wouldn’t be a mess. He would probably fit well on the Celtics. But what Boston would have to give up to get him makes the potential deal a disaster.
“It's hard to imagine the scenario in which the Boston Celtics would part with Derrick White or Jrue Holiday, two players whose salaries exceed Turner's expiring $19.9 million figure for 2024-25,” Hughes wrote. “But if Kristaps Porziņģis never gets right after offseason surgery and Al Horford starts to look his age, perhaps Boston would weaken the guard rotation to shore up the center spot.
“One of last year's defining features in Boston was five-out spacing. Turner provides that. Indiana would have to include another player or trim cash to onboard Holiday, but White would be a clean financial fit.”
Because of the CBA, the Celtics are unable to aggregate salaries in trades. That means trading for Turner would require shipping out one of Derrick White or Jrue Holiday, and that’s not something the Celtics should be looking to do.
Giving up on one of those guys would break up the most complete backcourt in the NBA, and the Celtics would lose a key element of what makes them a championship contender—an impenetrable two-way starting five.
A deal like that would require one of Turner, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser to step into the starting lineup. All three are good to excellent defenders, but none are on the same level as White or Holiday.
Perhaps the Celtics would think about something like this if the CBA gets to be too much for new ownership to handle, but right now, it would be a terrible idea.
White and Holiday are the backbone of everything the Celtics do. Their defensive prowess powers the Celtics, and their elite three-point shooting and occasional shot creation make the team special.
Flipping either one for Turner would make the team worse, even if Turner himself would make sense on the roster.