NBA Trade Rumors: 5 bold predictions before 2018 deadline

4. Lou Williams heads to Bean Town

Right now, the Boston Celtics are arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference. That doesn’t, however, mean they couldn’t be better. That’s why, leading up to the trade deadline, they should be busy making calls and weighing their options to improve heading into the home stretch.

One of the areas of concern right now for the Celtics is shooting, especially coming off the bench. While Marcus Smart is an excellent playmaking guard and Terry Rozier can be an effective option in the second unit, Boston needs more weapons in the backcourt moving forward.

That’s why I’m predicting they go out and make a deal for the Clippers’ Lou Williams.

Williams is expected to have several suitors calling about his services before Thursday’s deadline. Some will be more serious about making a deal than others. While I’m not entirely sure how desperate the Celtics are to add more firepower in the scoring department, they certainly have the assets necessary to entice a team like Los Angeles into making a deal.

So that’s exactly what they do. Using a young talent or two and one of their many draft assets, they convince the Clippers to part ways with Williams. They yield an outstanding scoring threat without gutting their current roster, all while ensuring themselves a legitimate run at the 2018 NBA Finals.