As recently as earlier this week, it seemed like the Celtics were primed to mostly run it back with a team built around Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and depth. But things can change quickly in the NBA, and suddenly it seems like every big trade rumor is back on the table for Boston, including a joint pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Bucks and Trey Murphy III from the Pelicans.
Wednesday, the narrative started to shift around Giannis, with multiple reports coming out stating that the Celtics are in the mix after all to add the two-time MVP. Then, on Friday, Marc Stein revealed that the Pelicans are indeed fielding offers for Murphy.
There wasn’t concrete reporting of the Celtics, specifically, making a play for Murphy, but we’ve heard about their interest in the past, and if New Orleans is taking calls, you’d have to imagine that Brad Stevens would be reaching out for one of the most coveted young trade chips on the market.
Celtics would likely have to trade Jaylen Brown and Derrick White
A package for Giannis would likely be centered around Jaylen Brown and maybe a pick and/or young player, while the Murphy deal could either be done using the Celtics’ $27+ million traded player exception from the Anfernee Simons deal or focusing on Derrick White, which seems more likely.
If the Celtics are willing to flip White and Brown for as many draft picks as possible, those can be rerouted to New Orleans and Milwaukee, with Antetokounmpo and Murphy III heading to Boston.
That would leave the Celtics with a starting lineup of Payton Pritchard, Murphy III, Tatum, Giannis, and Neemias Queta, with a bench unit of Baylor Scheierman, Sam Hauser, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Ron Harper Jr., and Luka Garza (they may have to part with one or two of those players in these deals).
Murphy isn’t as good as Brown, but he can slot into a similar role in Boston as an off-ball wing, an elite shooter, and someone who can attack closeouts and score in transition. He should feast off of easy looks playing off of Tatum and Giannis, and at just 25, there’s plenty of room for him to grow into a full-fledged star.
Pritchard and Queta should be able to thrive in this starting unit as Payton can run the show, will have multiple elite pick-and-roll partners, and will constantly be facing a compromised defense and weak defenders. He can obviously play off the superstars and make a living off easy catch-and-shoot looks. Neemy will also be able to screen for anyone on the court and will frequently be ignored as he rolls to the hoop for easy dunks.
Celtics could backfill roster around elite starting lineup
Boston would be losing two great perimeter defenders in Brown and white, but the frontcourt of Tatum, Giannis, and Queta would be incredibly difficult to score on, and Pritchard and Murphy are no slouches.
They could still use another guard and big, but most of the heavy lifting would be done, and that would be one hell of a starting lineup with a great mix of offensive and defensive firepower. They could also fully lean into a bench unit of young two-way hustle guys who could come in and wreak havoc all game long.Â
They’d still have the mid level exception to use on free agents and plenty of TPEs to make trades, plus you’d have to imagine some veteran ring-chasers may be looking to come play a nice bench role. The idea of landing the two hottest available stars seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream, but now, it doesn’t seem all that crazy.
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