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

Kyrie Irving, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers

On Tuesday, ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that Boston has “expressed interest” in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving. Realistically, this would come down to two things: 1) What the Celtics offer and 2) How desperate the Cavaliers truly are to unload Irving.

Boston obviously has a bevy of potential trade chips to land themselves another superstar. They attempted to pull it off this offseason, but were unable to pry Paul George away from the Indiana Pacers before the Oklahoma City Thunder did. If they think adding someone such as Irving will give them the edge in the East, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them put together quite the enticing package.

When it all comes down to it, the Celtics can hypothetically put together the best package. They’ve got a plethora of draft assets to work with, a star point guard of their own, and an abundance of wing talent. With LeBron James looking likely to leave next offseason, Cleveland could soon find itself going into rebuild mode. That makes Boston a perfect trade partner.

So here’s what I’m thinking the deal would look like:

Can the Cavaliers really demand much more than that for a player who has made it clear he wants out? They really only have so much negotiating power, so receiving Isaiah Thomas, a high-upside prospect and a solid backup forward (to make the money work) seems like a win.

It seems asinine for the Celtics to dump Thomas after the 2016-17 season he had. However, he is in a contract year and will likely demand a max deal next offseason. Irving is still under contract through 2019 at a much more reasonable price. Moving Jaylen Brown also opens up minutes for Tatum.

Next: Celtics' ambitious free agent targets in next 3 years

Plus, I think the Celtics would be wise to retain their draft picks with how the 2018 draft class could look come June. Either way, this is all hypothetical.