3 Players the Boston Celtics should trade for in the 2021 NBA offseason
It didn't take long for the Boston Celtics' new president, Brad Stevens, to make his imprint on the organization. Out went point guard Kemba Walker, as well as two draft picks, former Celtics center Al Horford and Moses Brown, and the 2023 second-round pick from OKC.
As well as boosting the C's roster, Stevens has simultaneously gained salary cap space, of which Boston has little to utilize this summer. In any offseason trade, they will likely be looking to use their leftover trade exceptions. Or they could include costly salaries from their roster such as Marcus Smart's, Tristan Thompson's and Evan Fournier's in a sign-and-trade deal.
In this article, we will examine three trade deals the Boston Celtics could negotiate to improve on their disappointing campaign this year.
Three players the Boston Celtics could target this summer
For a team who made the Conference Finals in the bubble, the Boston Celtics had a mightily disappointing campaign this year. Injuries thwarted any consistency the team could get together, and while jayson-tatum" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had electric seasons on the offensive end, the team as a whole struggled on defense, finishing 15th for efficiency.
Combined with the fact that the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks dominated the conference while the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks have improved, the Boston Celtics don't want to get caught losing touch. This means they will need to make several adjustments to the team's roster, some of which we will delve into in this article.
#1 Bradley Beal
A blockbuster trade the Boston Celtics could pursue involves bringing in Washington Wizards forward Bradley Beal. The small forward stirred up rumors this week after speaking highly about his partnership with Jayson Tatum at USA Basketball training.
Inevitably, bringing in a player of Beal's stature won't come cheap for the C's and would likely have to involve several future draft picks, as well as Marcus Smart and one or two other players. While the Wizards would not want to cripple themselves for next season by losing their top scorer, Boston could get lucky with the fact that Washington may be scared of Beal leaving next year with his player option coming into play.
Although it would in turn cripple the Boston Celtics' future significantly, Beal would certainly make the franchise a contender for the title next year with three incredible shooters in the starting lineup.