Boston Celtics Rumors: 3 superstars that could be traded for this offseason

Fresh off a disappointing 2020-21 season, the Boston Celtics are in the midst of a massively important offseason that could end up defining the franchise’s future. Armed with two young stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, it is mightily important for the front office to reconstruct this team into a title contender as soon as possible.

There are a number of different ways this offseason could go, but Boston’s lack of cap space will probably prohibit them from doing much in free agency this offseason. However, they are armed with multiple trade exceptions set to expire soon, so it’s more than likely the C’s will continue to be active in trade market as the season progresses.

Who they will add remains a mystery, and should be the chatter of Celtics nation as we wait for the NBA Finals to wrap up. While the Celtics don’t have as many assets as they once had, there’s a chance that they could make a move for a superstar this offseason, and it could be what the Celtics need to get back on track.

Obviously it would take a lot for the Celtics to grab a star, but where there’s a will there’s a way. The Brooklyn Nets trade package for James Harden basically consisted of a bounty of first round picks, which the Celtics still own, so they certainly have what it takes to pull off a move if they want to. If they opt to make a massive move this offseason, here are three players they could look to move for.

Boston Celtics Trade Target No. 3: Karl-Anthony Towns

This past season was an interesting one for Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves. After spending most of the first half of the season at the bottom of the Western Conference, they began to figure things out in the second half thanks to the emergence of Anthony Edwards.

As a result of their second half turnaround, the Timberwolves may ultimately decide against trading Towns. After all, he will only be 26 next season, and him and Edwards have proven to be a decent pairing in their limited time together.

But Minnesota may ultimately decide to blow things up and completely rebuild around Edwards. And if they do, Boston should be one of the first teams inquiring about Towns availability.

Towns has come to epitomize the new wave of centers in the NBA. He is a threat in the paint as well as behind the three point line. Prior to this season, he had three straight seasons of shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc.

Towns would be the perfect complement to Tatum and Brown offensively. Pick-and-roll sets involving Tatum and Towns would be downright deadly, and Towns would help space out an offense that didn’t have enough knockdown three point shooters to keep opposing defenses on their toes last season.

Defensively, Towns isn’t anything write home about, but he can hold his own. Running him in a rotation with Rob Williams (assuming he wouldn’t be used as trade bait here) would be ideal, and allow coach Ime Udoka to pick matchups as he goes. It’s felt like the C’s have lacked a true big man for quite some time now, but they could change that by swinging a deal with Minnesota for Towns.