Boston Celtics: 3 big-name trade targets before 2018 deadline

Carmelo Anthony, SF, New York Knicks

Leading up to the 2017 trade deadline, the Celtics were mentioned as a potential destination for Carmelo Anthony. Now that the New York Knicks star is nearly guaranteed to be playing elsewhere in 2017-18, Boston needs to nudge its way back into the race.

At this moment, Carmelo only appears interested in joining with the Houston Rockets. It makes sense why he’d want that, but the Knicks appear unwilling to take on Ryan Anderson‘s contract to facilitate the deal. They’re building for the future, so adding an overpaid, overrated stretch-4 for three more years seems counterproductive.

As talks with Houston continue to stall, look for Anthony to expand his list of acceptable landing spots. There’s already been rumors of him opening up to the idea of joining the Portland Trail Blazers (via Bleacher Report‘s Adam Wells). Are the Celtics next on his list of viable options?

If so, here’s how it could go down:

In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t the greatest trade for the Celtics. They lose a lot of depth and upside, but that’s the only way to make the trade work financially. Still, that’s likely what it’s going to take to pry Carmelo away from the Knicks. At least they get a decent guard prospect in Chasson Randle….

More importantly, they get Anthony, who can immediately slot in as the starting 4. He’s an instant upgrade for an already-deadly offense, and helps space the floor out even more with his sharpshooting.

Still, it’s debatable whether or not trading for Carmelo makes the Celtics a threat to the Warriors.