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.
Boston Celtics Trade Target No. 2: Bradley Beal
By now, most Boston Celtics fans should know the history between Jayson Tatum and Bradley Beal. The lifelong friends grew up together in St. Louis, and were almost always found on opposite sides of the court when it came to basketball. Now that they have gotten the opportunity to play with each other on Team USA, both players seem to be relishing it.
As a result of their longstanding friendship, it would make sense if both stars were open to teaming up in the NBA and working towards a championship together. We see it all around the NBA nowadays, and there’s no doubt in my mind both Tatum and Beal have seen the recent trend across the league and discussed the possibility with each other, especially given how much time they are spending with each other on Team USA.
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A team up between the two Missouri boys would be a fun watch for Celtics fans. Beal’s production reached a new level in Washington over the past two seasons, as he has averaged over 30 points per game in consecutive seasons now. He’s an elite scorer of the ball from all three levels of the floor, and would bring in a third scoring option alongside Tatum and Brown that was missing for so much of last season.
While Beal functions more as a shooting guard rather than a point guard, he could fill Boston’s now gaping hole at the guard position after trading away Kemba Walker. His assist numbers plummeted this past season, but that can probably be chalked up to the lack of options he had around him for the most part.
Tatum and Brown function much better as off-ball options rather than someone conducting the offense. Bringing in a guy like Beal helps take that pressure off of them immediately, as he often led the offense in Russell Westbrook‘s absence this past season. His ability to create shots for himself, while also initiating it to help Tatum and Brown find shots, would easily help kickstart Boston’s offense.
Defensively, Beal is also a bit of an upgrade compared to the outgoing Walker. He won’t win you games on defense in a way a guy like Marcus Smart can, but he’s also not going to be able to get picked on constantly like Walker was for most of his tenure in Boston.
Even with the Wizards hot finish to the season, the Beal-to-Boston rumors won’t cool down, and him and Tatum hanging out in Japan probably won’t help either. It will require a hefty fee, but it may just be worth it to allow Tatum and Beal to finally team up with each other rather than working on defeating each other for once.
Boston Celtics Trade Target No. 1: Damian Lillard
Speaking of people Tatum has been spotted hanging out with during his time on Team USA, Damian Lillard could be the grand prize of the offseason if he decides to move on from the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s been well documented now that Lillard has been unhappy with the Trail Blazers recent head coaching search, and has begun to wonder whether or not he can actually win a title in Portland.
Those rumors have cooled off with Lillard now focusing on the Olympics, but it raises the question of whether or not the Celtics could pull off a move of this caliber. Lillard’s greatness at this point cannot be argued; he’s averaged over 25 points per game for six straight seasons now while continually improving his playmaking. Not to mention he is one of the most clutch players in recent NBA history.
Of course, the risk of trading for Lillard is higher than that of any other team on this list. He turns 31 in just three days now, and the price for him would easily be the steepest of the three on this list. Would conjuring up a huge package for Lillard even be worth it at this stage of his career?
While that’s a question that will linger if Lillard ultimately requests a trade, it’s no question that his addition would boost the Celtics offense in a monumental way. Lillard is a downright deadly scorer from all over the floor, even shots from way behind the three point line that seem basically impossible.
Lillard also is a much more skilled ballhandler than anyone that’s currently on the Celtics roster. Lillard’s assist numbers have continually risen his entire career, and much like Beal, his ability to initiate the offense would do wonders for not only Tatum and Brown, but the entire Celtics offense.
It’s clear Lillard is the best option of the three right now, but that may not be the case three years from now. However, if Boston wants to make themselves a title contender overnight, acquiring Lillard is their best option to do so. The Boston Celtics have the means to reconstruct this team into a title contender overnight if they want to; the question is whether or not they will.