NBA Trade Deadline portfolio: Boston Celtics

Ladies and gentlemen, meet your 2017 NBA trade deadline high stakes player, the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics are uniquely positioned as currently constructed due to one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory. It’s an enviable position that allows Boston to simultaneously try to compete while possessing the best lottery odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick this year, with their swap rights with Brooklyn and the Nets currently seven games back in the loss column for worst record in the league.

While currently three games back in the loss column of the Cleveland Cavaliers for home court throughout the Eastern playoffs, no one should be affording Boston a chance of besting the Cavaliers in a series. Isaiah Thomas’ performance this season has been all-time outlier ridiculous, to the point we’ve run out of superlatives for the 5-foot-8 former 60th pick in the draft. But in a series with the Cavaliers, Thomas’ defensive deficiencies will unavoidably come to the forefront, magnifying the bigger issue which is that Boston’s defense overall has dropped off a cliff this year and their defensive rebounding has been abhorrent. Thomas has carried Boston’s offense to top seven in the league thus far, but the overall team makeup screams non-contender.

Boston’s position is certainly enviable, but it’s also murkier than initially meets the eye. Boston’s four best players: Thomas, Horford, Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley, are all in their primes at 26 and over. They’re ready to win now, and Horford, Crowder, and Bradley represent arguably the best two-way supporting cast in the league to compliment two superstar creators. If Thomas can sustain this level of offensive play he might be a net positive in the playoffs, but he’s going to take a ton off the table on defense.

You can say the Celtics are at a crossroads, either having the ammunition to move their elite draft capital for a Jimmy Butler type or possessing the established players to expedite a rebuild around their Nets picks. It’s also easy to view their current situation as just playing with house money in putting out a competitive playoff team while really biding time for true blue-chippers in the draft. The situation is in the eye of the beholder, with Boston’s core now and their incoming draft capital having clear time alignment issues.

We should get a much clearer picture of the road Boston wants to travel at the trade deadline. The two players Boston will be associated with are Jimmy Butler and DeMarcus Cousins, both top 15 NBA talents. It’s very unlikely Cousins changes teams from both a trade feasibility and financial incentive angle, rendering Butler the more realistic get.

Boston can offer the Bulls an expedited rebuild opportunity with shots at franchise player talent in the next two drafts unrivaled by the rest of the league in their swap rights with Brooklyn this season and ownership of Brooklyn’s 2018 first unprotected. The more intriguing question is how much are the Celtics willing to give up?

A package of Tyler Zeller, Avery Bradley, and both Brooklyn picks for Butler is a dynamite return for Chicago that could potentially net the Bulls Markelle Fultz and Luka Doncic in the next two drafts. That’s mouthwatering, especially when paired with the inflated value of Chicago’s own pick. Do the Celtics have to offer that much when they could configure a trade package without offering both Nets picks that probably already eclipses their competition? The answer is probably yes. The Celtics aren’t just bidding against others teams for Butler. They’re bidding against Chicago’s willingness to trade him, and making it worthwhile to part with a top 10 player. How often do top 10 players become available on the trade market? Rarely ever. If I’m Chicago, I want a godfather offer. But does that even make sense for Boston?

A Butler, Thomas, Horford and Crowder core is damn solid, but that core still isn’t beating LeBron James. The Celtics would still be one star short, and likely having parted with not only their most alluring trade assets but also with their future. There are convincing arguments to both sides of the spectrum.

The aforementioned Cousins for a similar package to the Butler hypothetical is also on the table. Acquiring both is probably a fantasy, but it actually makes far more sense to try to do that instead of just one, assuming it’s remotely possible. Again, Cousins is unlikely to change teams, perhaps in his entire career.

Less notable deals for Boston revolve around bettering their rebounding or defense at the five spot. Three big men stand out in this regard: Nikola Vucevic, Andrew Bogut and Nerlens Noel.

Vucevic certainly would help fill the rebounding void for Boston, and he’s a versatile offensive player who can space out to 18 feet and bang in the post to take the beating off Horford. However, he struggles guarding in pick-and-roll and isn’t much of a rim protector, so it’s hard to see Boston’s defense climbing out of mediocrity with that addition. It’s unclear what the Orlando Magic would want in return for Vucevic, but the Celtics certainly have the pieces to get it done.

Bogut would likely come at the cheapest price, and makes more sense for Boston when you pair that with Bogut checking the rebounding and defense boxes. The Celtics could package a 2019 first from Memphis or the LA Clippers along with Tyler Zeller to get a deal done. Doing so would give Boston a short-term stopgap who really helps fill Boston’s weaknesses at a cheaper cost.

Noel is the most interesting option due to his age and potential defensive contributions. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer, and while Boston has the cap space to sign him outright without sacrificing any pieces now, if they choose to renegotiate and extend Thomas and/or Bradley this summer, acquiring Noel’s lesser cap hold now if he is in their future plans would make sense. Using the New Orleans Hornets talks with Philadelphia over Jahlil Okafor involving a first round pick as a gauge, it’s probably fair to assume a future first is Noel’s market as well, which again Boston can satisfy.

Next: The 20 best NBA players who could be available at the trade deadline

Whether this deadline ends up changing the landscape of the league at all comes down largely to the Celtics. They have the blue chip pieces to actually get into the star sweepstakes. They could just as easily sit back and make more reserved moves while retaining their future like taking Bogut as a rental. The choice is theirs.

Home/NBA