After winding up at 19-17 at the all-star break, Boston has looked very inconsistent. They’ve played good teams quite close, but they’ve played disappointingly against teams they should beat. Their struggles have mostly come down to the 4th quarter, as they have shown an inability to close out. If they want to become a real contender, GM Danny Ainge must make a splash or two at the trade deadline. Boston has two TPE’s from trading Enes Kanter ($4,767,000) and Gordon Hayward ($28,500,000), which can both be used to make major moves leading up to the NBA trade deadline on March 25th. Boston has a couple of holes to fill, so this article will run through how I think Boston should execute this season’s trade deadline in order to maximize their title chances and plug the many holes in their roster.

Holes To Fill

Boston is usually a pretty complete team, but this season, they seem less competent in multiple different areas. The areas I’ve highlighted are:

Point Guard Scoring
Wing Depth
Center Upgrade

I've devised multiple trades that would address each of these holes, only using one of Boston's two TPE's for certain trades in which using the TPE is the best scenario for Boston.

Trade 1 (Point Guard Scoring): Boston Nabs A Solid PG

Boston receives: George Hill, 2021 SRP
Oklahoma City receives: Carsen Edwards, 2021 FRP

To keep it simple, Boston needs 3 point shooting and scoring/shooting from the point guard spot. Kemba Walker is playing abysmally in every aspect of the game, and Jeff Teague has developed a serious allergy to good offense, leaving only rookie Payton Pritchard at the point guard spot. With this trade, Boston gives up Carsen Edwards, who has played ok for Boston, but nowhere near good enough to get very many minutes. George Hill is a consistently good 3 point shooter and is a solid facilitator as well. This would be perfect for Boston, as they check both boxes needing to be filled regarding their point guard rotation.

For Oklahoma City, this is simply what Sam Presti has been doing for a while now. OKC dumps a veteran while his value is high, and gets a young point guard that would get decent minutes as well as a first-round pick. This should be an easy trade to accept for OKC, as they don't need Hill for a playoff push any time soon, so they might as well unload him while the asking price is the highest.

Trade Fairness: 9/10

This is a pretty even trade, with both teams making a solid move here. Boston gains the reliable scoring from distance output that Jeff Teague has lacked, while OKC adds yet another first-round pick to their cache.

Trade Realisticness: 6/10

Danny Ainge rarely does the move sitting right under his nose, but it's not a hard trade to complete, since Presti would probably jump at any trade for Hill involving getting a first-rounder in return. But, since Ainge is pretty stingy (or has seemed so recently) I don’t 100% see this happening.

Trade 2 (Center Upgrade): Boston Goes Big

Boston receives: Nikola Vucevic and James Ennis III
Orlando receives: Kemba Walker, Semi Ojeleye, 2021 FRP and 2024 FRP (both top 5 protected)

Apparently, multiple teams are vying after Nikola Vucevic, and the Magic have been fielding calls. Boston has been one of the main teams in the mix for the full-tool big man known as Vuc. While Vuc would fit into the Hayward TPE, his value is too high for a TPE, some bench pieces, and a couple of picks. Kemba Walker would most likely have to be sent to Orlando in a deal for Vuc. Ennis is also a nice wing piece for Boston’s bench, and he’s also in there for salary matching.

For Orlando, I believe it’s best that they rebuild. Vuc is a piece that is more win-now for many teams, and at 30 years old, he is reaching his peak trade value, so it’d be wise for Orlando to trade him now. They do get back an older, overpaid player in Kemba Walker, but when rebuilding, a team will have to take bad contracts to get young players and draft capital. Kemba Walker’s contract might not be worth 2 FRP’s and Semi Ojeleye in some peoples’ eyes, but this might be one of the better deals that Orlando sees for Vuc.

Trade Fairness: 6/10

If I’m being honest I don’t know if the Magic would accept this deal. Maybe a different young wing player like Romeo Langford or Aaron Nesmith would strike Orlando’s fancy, or maybe some more draft capital, but I can’t see this being an immediate yes from the Magic. For that reason, I give it a 6/10 for fairness.

Trade Realisticness: 5/10

While this may not be one of the absolute best offers that Orlando would get for Vuc, it’s probably not the worst. Orlando probably wouldn’t accept this off the bat in order to keep as much leverage in this trade as possible, so I see it being offered by Boston, but probably not accepted as is by the Magic, so I’m giving this 5/10 for realisticness.

Trade 3 (Wing Depth): Boston Addresses the Wing

Boston receives: Thaddeus Young
Chicago received: Carsen Edwards, Aaron Nesmith, 2021 SRP (via OKC)

In this trade, Boston brings in some much-needed versatility to their bench. They address the wing rotation, which is basically Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Semi Ojeleye as of late, so Young brings a very nice element of self-reliability and two-way impact. He’s long and he hustles on defense, and he’s a dutiful shot-maker on offense, who has 12.1 PPG on 25.3 MPG this season. I like the liveliness and veteran capability he would bring to Boston’s young and shoddy bench wings. And his salary only takes up a little less than half of the Hayward TPE.

On Chicago’s side, I don’t see them as a serious threat in the playoffs. Some more young promise and depth on their roster is better than an old vet who isn’t serving their timeline much good. I think Young should be thrown around in trade talks, and I think Boston can make a compelling offer that would satisfy both teams

Trade Fairness: 9/10

The only reason that I don’t say 10/10 is because I think Boston might need to add a little tiny bit of value in terms of the players they offer. Instead of Nesmith, maybe Ojeleye could head Chicago’s way. But other than that, this trade is very fair.

Trade Realisticness: 6/10

If Thad Young is made available (which he already should be), then Boston should definitely try to pursue him, but not as heavily as someone like Aaron Gordon or Nikola Vucevic. Young is a very nice piece and Boston would be lucky to have him on their bench, but this trade isn’t a top priority for either team.

I’ve covered three trades for Boston so far, but I want to discuss one more. This would be a major blockbuster, even bigger than the Vuc trade.

Trade 4: Boston Reunites the St. Louis Tandem

Boston receives: Bradley Beal and Raul Neto
Washington receives: Kemba Walker, Semi Ojeleye, Tremont Waters, 2021 & 2023 FRP’s (top 8 protected) and 2021 SRP

This would make Boston a top 5 team in the league. But, this trade only happens if the Wizards make Beal available, which they have shown no signs of even inching towards. But, Boston would be one of the likeliest trade destinations for Beal if Beal was made available. He and Tatum are friends, and he would be put in a significantly better situation to win than in Washington. Boston gets one of the most dynamic scorers in the league, who can output insane offensive production on a nightly basis while keeping their young core. This is a win for Boston because they do give up two FRP’s, they are protected (top 8) and it’s not like they’ll be a lottery team in 2021 or 2023 anyway.

For Washington, this is contingent on whether or not they field offers for Beal. If they don’t, which is what they have apparently decided to do as of now, then this won’t happen. But, it wouldn’t be terrible if it did happen. Tremont Waters is a bit of a question mark, but he could be decent in the right role. Semi Ojeleye is a young bench piece with decent shooting and solid perimeter defense. And for Kemba Walker, he might not be the best fit alongside Russell Westbrook (I think he’d be fine), but he’s still a top 50 player in the NBA who is capable of spearheading the offensive attack and making his teammates better. If the Wizards want to initiate a rebuild, the picks are worth getting. They’ll almost certainly fall outside of the protection, so Washington will get them.

Trade Fairness: 7/10

I think this trade is pretty fair. Boston gives up 3 picks, plus two youngsters, and unloads Walker for salary matching and value matching, so this isn’t a terrible trade for either side. I posted a discussion gauging the response to one Beal trade, and most people said Boston got fleeced so I evened it out a little bit, and found this middle ground.

Trade Realisticness: 1/10

This is so low because, as I have mentioned, Washington has shown no intention of even listening to calls regarding Bradley Beal. If he really is as untouchable as the Wizards are making it seem, then the 1/10 here is pretty accurate.

Other Options: What Could be Gained Outside of Trading?

For Boston, outside of the trade market, surfing buyouts might be a viable option for a low-cost yet solid veteran that would play a decent bench role. Someone like Tony Snell or Trevor Ariza would be welcome in Boston’s wing rotation if I was Danny Ainge. Blake Griffin was never on Boston’s radar (he’s washed), and he’s the only buyout candidate to make a splashy signing recently, so we’ll see what the buyout market has to offer closer to the trade deadline.

Conclusion

Well, we’ve discussed 4 possible trades for Boston, as well as some potential buyout targets, so there isn’t much more to cover here. That’ll do it for this article, let me know what moves you would make if you were the Boston Celtics! Stay safe, and have a great day!