NBA Trade Deadline: 3 Players the Celtics Should Target
The NBA Trade Deadline is this Thursday, February 6th at 3:00 PM eastern time. The Boston Celtics have been involved in pretty much every trade rumor of the past 5 years. However, this season has been a bit quiet. Too quiet. Whenever the rumors of years past came about, the trade inevitably never occurred. With this season being quiet regarding trade rumors, will it somehow result in a big trade? Let’s look at a few players the Celtics could bring to Boston.
Clint Capela
The Clint Capela rumors struck out of nowhere Monday afternoon as a real possibility for Boston. The Celtics would kill to have a big like Capela on their team. The only legitimate complaint against Boston is their lack of a big man and how that could be their demise come postseason. Learning that this trade could occur without including a top 5 rotation player made it all the more enticing. The trade could/should be Theis/Kanter, Romeo Langford, Edwards/Waters, and 1-3 draft picks. Capela is currently averaging 13.9ppg, 13.8rpg(career-high) and 1.8 bpg. As a Celtics fan, if we can keep Theis and add Capela, this deal needs to happen ASAP. Could Capela be the answer Boston is looking for?
Luke Kennard
Luke Kennard is a sharpshooting wing player on the Detroit Pistons. He’s hit nearly 3 threes a game this season. A small concern the Celtics face is the lack of a consistent shooter off their bench. If the second unit included Kennard, defenses would never get a break against Boston. This season he’s averaging just under 16 points per game and for what it’s worth, 4 assists. Trading for the young shooter would not be as difficult as it would be for Capela. A deal could include a first-round pick and 1 or 2 of Ojeleye/Edwards/Waters/Langford. The Celtics are in win-now mode meaning they need to give up on a young player with upside.
Davis Bertans
Back in December, the 6’10 sharpshooter came up in rumors of being traded. The reasons for these rumors are the Wizards sucking, he’s a free agent this offseason and teams may pay a nice price to obtain him. All Washington would want for Bertans are young players and/or draft picks; Boston has a plethora of both. As for picks in this upcoming draft, Boston owns 3 including their own, a top-6 protected Grizzlies pick, and a top-7 protected Bucks pick. All of those picks will convey to Boston and can be utilized in any deal. This season, Bertans is averaging 15 points per game and making a whopping 3.6 threes per game at a 43% rate. A deal should look something like Kanter, Edwards and 2 of their 3 first-round picks for this year. A lineup consisting of Kemba, Jaylen, Gordon, Jayson, and Bertans may be the best 3 point lineup any team has to offer.
What Will Happen?
When the trade deadline passes on Thursday, it is very likely that the Celtics will trade for none of the players I have mentioned. Since Celtics GM Danny Ainge is incredibly unpredictable, if a trade occurs, I’m sure none of us will see it coming. I would most like to see Bertans come to Boston because of his combination of size and shooting. I’m wary on Capela but could see him thriving if he buys into the Brad Stevens system. This may include him coming off the bench behind Theis (yes, Theis is really good) and if that proves to be a non-issue, the team would undoubtedly improve. Kennard is the guy I’d want the least but acquiring his talents could be big come postseason. In conclusion, Boston currently has enough talent to make the NBA Finals and maybe even win it with their current roster. A trade isn’t necessary, but if they want to win, and they want to win now, we may see a trade go down.
Brandon Black (Follow @bhblack02)