NBA Trade Deadline 2017: 5 trades that should have happened
1. Blake Griffin, Celtics Finally United
This one most definitely would’ve broken the internet had it gone down prior to the NBA Trade Deadline. It feels like the past few seasons have all featured some variation of Blake Griffin trade rumors and the Celtics have been mentioned in many of them (again, assets talk). However, this would’ve been the year for Boston and Ainge to finally pull the trigger on a deal and give the Clippers the assets they were looking for.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the notion of a Blake-to-Boston trade was “extremely unlikely” all along. However, if a deal were to materialize, the Clippers would reportedly be asking for a massive haul. That stands to reason considering that a healthy Griffin is an absolute game-changer for any team, but particularly the Celtics. Lowe said talks would have to be centered around a package featuring Crowder, either Bradley or Smart, and then picks compensation down the line. They get that in this deal and are better set up for the future as they’ve seemingly reached their ceiling with their version of a Big 3.
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Meanwhile, the Celtics would be in complete win-now mode, which is where they should’ve been at the deadline. Though they’re close, Al Horford isn’t a young player anymore, crossing the threshold of 30 years old already. Thus, adding a piece such as Griffin to supplement Isaiah Thomas and Horford right now makes them a viable contender in the east. Obviously this one ultimately didn’t come close—but hey, at least Boston still has a lot of shiny assets still in mint condition in the box.