The Boston Celtics could definitely benefit from making some trades before the February 10th trade deadline. They have not lived up to expectations this year, they sit at .500 on the season following losses to the Lakers and the Clippers.
All the rumors have been Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Ben Simmons, or other all star/all NBA players. The Celtics have tried that before. Remember Kyrie? Kemba? How did those experiments turn out.
It’s time to build around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. For starters, the Celtics need them both to be healthy and on the court together. The days of them needing to find their third star should be over. They need to focus on their depth, get guys who they can rely on when Tatum and/or Brown go cold.
They should be in win now mode this season. Tatum and Brown are only getting older and their window has been open for a couple years already. They need to take advantage of having a guy like Dennis Schroeder on the type of discount contract they signed him to.
Trade 1
Boston Celtics and Sacramento Kings
Harrison Barnes has been a solid player in the NBA since he was helping Steph Curry win his first NBA championship in Golden State.
The Celtics could offer a trade package around Josh Richardson and Aaron Nesmith to try and acquire Barnes. The Kings are 11-14 on the season, not terrible, but thats not getting them to the playoffs, or a top draft pick.
Taking on Richardson gives them a replacement veteran wing player in Richardson. The Kings seem to only want to draft guards (except Marvin Bagley), De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Davion Mitchell. They are all solid players, but they need some wings that fit their timeline. That’s where Aaron Nesmith fits in for them. Nesmith gets less than 10 minutes a game in Boston. With a young rebuilding team in Sacramento, he would have more of an opportunity to show his skills as a shooter.
The Celtics would really benefit from this trade. Barnes has been scoring 19 ppg this year, to go with 7 rebounds, while shooting 40% from beyond the three point line. If Barnes could adjust to the Celtics bench with Dennis Schroeder, the Celtics could really take advantage of other teams second units while Tatum and Brown are on the bench.
Trade 2
Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have gone towards rebuild mode as they struggle this season. They are going to be taking offers for their core players. One of them being Myles Turner.
Turner is an elite defender and shot blocker. Now this could be an interesting move for the Celtics to make at the moment, they already have Al Horford and Robert Williams III as their centers. They do start them both though, so IF Myles Turner would accept the bench role, at least when he first gets to Boston, they could really solidify their interior defense.
The Celtics could offer up a package around Payton Pritchard, Aaron Nesmith, and Josh Richardson. Richardson makes the money work, and Pritchard and Nesmith give the Pacers solid young players in return.
If the Celtics could pull this trade off, Turner could get a chance to show that he is more than a role player, specifically if they make a run in the postseason.
Trade 3
Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs
This trade idea would shake the Celtics rotation up a bit. They would be trading for Spurs guard Dejounte Murray. He’s not really a bench player, but he’s also not a star player. Either way, the Celtics should definitely be calling the Spurs about Murray.
Murray might cost a lot, any package would be involving a mix of the following players; Payton Pritchard, Aaron Nesmith, Romeo Langford, Josh Richardson, Grant Williams.
Murray is an incredible defender on the perimeter, ideally, the new Celtics starting lineup would be consisting of Murray, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Robert Williams III. Leaving Dennis Schroeder and Al Horford to lead the bench.
This trade could potentially deplete the Celtics depth, but in a perfect world they would be able to keep one of Nesmith and Langford to remain off the bench for them.
Details
The Celtics would obviously have to include draft picks in any of their trade offers as they are trading with rebuilding teams who want the future assets the Celtics used to hoard. The Celtics got their guys (Tatum, Brown, Williams) from their draft picks. It’s time to move the rest for proven players as they look to win now.
Most of these trades could be tweaked a little in what the Celtics give up, Josh Richardson is the only who has to be included in these deals simply to make the money match. Other teams will be much more interested in the young players on rookie contracts.
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