Boston Celtics Rumors: James Harden would be a Kyrie Irving type mess

The Boston Celtics would be making a mistake if they traded for James Harden.

The philosopher George Santayana once said that, “those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The Boston Celtics would be doing just that as another NBA superstar has reportedly become available for trade.

So when rumors came out a couple weeks ago that the Celtics were reportedly interested in trading for James Harden, I immediately thought back to three years ago.

During the summer of 2017, the Celtics were coming off of a year where they had won 53 games and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in five years. Led by a young core of players like Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, and Kelly Olynyk, the future in Boston looked incredibly bright.

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But then, when given the opportunity to acquire a superstar, general manager Danny Ainge decided to blow it all up.

First, he traded Bradley to the Detroit Pistons in order to clear cap space for new free agent acquisition Gordon Hayward. He also let Olynyk walk in free agency, and Olynyk wound up signing with the Miami Heat.

And then, on August 22, nearly two months after the beginning of free agency, came the infamous trade. The Celtics sent Thomas—their all-star point guard—Crowder, Ante Zizic, and a first round draft pick to the rival Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for superstar point guard Kyrie Irving.

At the time, the move was raved by Boston Celtics fans. They felt as though for the first time since Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett had left town, the Celtics had a true franchise player that they could build their team around for years to come.

However, as we all know, the Kyrie Irving era in Boston didn’t exactly go as planned. Throughout his two seasons with the team, Irving’s successes on the court were overshadowed the off-court drama that he created, and his seemingly toxic presence in the team’s locker room.

In fact, during those two years, the Celtics actually had more success when Irving didn’t play than when he did. With Irving missing the entire 2018 postseason due to an injury, the Celtics made it back to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they took LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers—Irving’s old team—to seven games. With Irving during the 2019 playoffs, however, the Celtics bowed out against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round in just five games.

Following the 2019 postseason, Irving left for the Brooklyn Nets, and the Celtics were back to square one.

So to sum up the entire Kyrie Irving saga, in his effort to push the Boston Celtics over the hump and make them a true title contender, all Danny Ainge really did was set them back two years.

Now, three years later, the Celtics are at a similar crossroads. With blossoming stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, four-time all-star Kemba Walker, and defensive stalwart Marcus Smart, the Celtics once again have a young core that fans are excited about.

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However, in order to acquire a player like Harden, the Celtics would likely have to blow up that young core, much like they did in 2017.

Sure, James Harden doesn’t have the same off-court issues that Irving does. But make no mistake about it: if the Boston Celtics were to break up their entire core to acquire Harden, they would be making the same exact error that they did three years ago.

Here’s hoping that Danny Ainge has studied his history, and that he’s learned something from his own mistake.

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