Boston Celtics: 4 possible trade ideas
1. Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan
Why the Celtics complete this trade:
DeAndre Jordan would be a nice addition to any team. He’s another one of those players that is super athletic, can rebound the ball and provide great interior defense. This trade is a little trickier because of the contract situation.
The Los Angeles Clippers should go through a rebuild now while they still have value on their team. They will not be competing in the Finals anytime soon, nor will they be much competition in the playoffs… if they even make it. More than likely, Jordan will leave this offseason if the Clippers don’t trade him first.
Jordan is set to become an unrestricted free agent, which means that his trade value drops significantly. No team is going to give a lot away for a player if they believe that can’t re-sign him in the offseason. Unless of course, your team is competing for the Finals, then it might be something to consider.
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The Celtics are popular team, and a lot of players love to play for their organization – which means they would have pretty good odds to re-sign Jordan if things go well. He is still 29 years old, with a few good years of high level play left in his tank.
He’s an All-Star level player who can excel more in Boston because the attention surrounding him isn’t as big anymore. As stated before, the Celtics’ bench scoring is one of the worst in the NBA. What can they do to fix that? Plug in Lou Williams.
Lou Williams is one of the best sixth men in the NBA, and he even won that award back in 2015. This season he is averaging 18.7 points, 4.1 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game. He can immediately come off the bench for the Celtics and provide them with strong offense while the others are playing great defense. Their bench unit could become scary good, with a lethal combo of great defense and offense.
The only issue with this is the idea is that he too is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. But the Celtics could possibly retain him as well, especially if they are able to win a championship.
They are basically doing an even swap in Horford and Jordan, except they are getting a younger player in Jordan. Plus, they are getting a Sixth Man of the Year candidate for a first round pick or so. The only issue is… can they re-sign them or win the Finals this season?
Why the Clippers complete this trade:
They accept this trade because they desperately need a rebuild and a complete change in the locker room. Blake Griffin is out for a while, they lost Patrick Beverly for the season, and they lost Chris Paul this offseason. They will not be winning anytime soon, so while they can get at least something in return – it only makes sense to do this now.
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The Clippers are always in the news after some new drama filled thing one of their players did, or someone got injured, or Doc Rivers says something. It’s time for a change in the locker room and a complete rebuild, and this is a step toward that.