In the absence of any opportunity to land LeBron James, the Boston Celtics must go after the closest thing to his kryptonite: Kawhi Leonard.
I wrote last week that I thought LeBron James and the Boston Celtics needed to bury the hatchet and work together to topple the Golden State Warriors regime.
But as has been reported by Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, that turn of events is unlikely given the many obstacles standing in the way of such a deal. I still believe Boston represents the best basketball option for LeBron James under the circumstances, but let’s turn our attention for a moment to the far more likely scenario in which he goes elsewhere.
The Celtics — as stacked with veteran and young talent as they are — are still missing a very important piece in their quest for an NBA championship: A truly elite superstar. A top-five player in the NBA.
Yes, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are incredible basketball players. Stars, even. But they lack the world-beating qualities of the higher tier. This tier is small — currently including, in my opinion, just LeBron, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard and maybe Anthony Davis — and a player from this tier very rarely becomes available.
It has been 15 years since a team won an NBA championship without a player from this tier, and the 2004 Detroit Pistons should be viewed as the exception that proves the rule, not the model to emulate.
Kawhi Leonard has stated his desires to be traded, and the Boston Celtics are better equipped to attain him than any franchise in the league if the San Antonio Spurs decide to move him. More importantly, Kawhi, out of the players in his tier, may be the best fit for the roster Boston has already assembled.
The funny thing is that Kawhi Leonard is actually a rather average offensive player, at least among his peers in this elite category.
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His best scoring season had him averaging 25.5 points per game on 48.5 percent shooting — this, while playing within one of the most sophisticated offenses in the league. That is a lot closer to DeMar DeRozan than it is to Kevin Durant.
Kawhi is well below-average in his ability to make plays for his teammates. He is averaging just 2.3 assists per game in his career, and has never registered more than seven assists in a single game.
He is not a truly elite offensive player, but this is where I would like to remind everyone that Kawhi Leonard is quite possibly the best wing defender of all time. He’s the only wing/guard to win the Defensive Player of the Year award since 1996 when Gary Payton won it. And he’s done it twice.
In the case of the Boston Celtics, Kyrie Irving is more than capable of making up for Kawhi’s offensive shortcomings, but there is no way to replicate what he brings to the table defensively.
So let’s fast-forward to next season with a very simple premise: The Celtics missed out on LeBron, but he stayed in the Eastern Conference, let’s say with the Philadelphia 76ers. Kevin Durant has re-signed with the Golden State Warriors. In this scenario, there is almost no chance for Boston to win an NBA championship without winning a playoff series against each of those two contenders.
Kawhi Leonard is the answer to that conundrum. He has notoriously bothered both LeBron James and Kevin Durant. I know the numbers don’t necessarily bear that out, but that has more to do with the greatness of James and Durant. Anyone watching those matchups can see the visible discomfort as Kawhi makes life miserable for them.
So when you start to talk yourself into Jaylen Brown being a better option than Kawhi for Boston’s future — as ESPN‘s Zach Lowe so eloquently explored today — remember that simple defensive aspect.
Jaylen Brown is exceeding the early checkpoints that Kawhi hit, and he very well may be a better offensive player than Kawhi in a few years. But at his absolute peak, Jaylen will simply be another great offensive player in a league chock-full of them.
There is only one Kawhi Leonard, and even though Jaylen Brown will almost certainly develop into a fine two-way player, he lacks that all-time defensive upside.
Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft - Final edition
The Boston Celtics may not have the best player on the floor in a series against LeBron James or Kevin Durant, but they could have the best guy to stop them. That should be all it takes to get Danny Ainge to pull the trigger.