Outside of winning a title before the Nets, which is possible with or without trading for Kevin Durant, there might not be a better way for the Celtics to get back at Kyrie Irving than pulling his superstar friend from him.
Apparently, that almost happened, but Brad Stevens wasn’t ready to part with both Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart (plus multiple draft picks). Still, Boston and Brooklyn could get a deal done since the Celtics are willing to move on from one of their young stars, and the Nets are clearly interested in him.
What if they’d taken Brooklyn’s counter offer, though? Where would that put the Celtics’ with their roster construction and the future?
Of course, Boston would instantly become one of the best offenses in the league, if not the best. They’d be acquiring a player with championship pedigree that’s used to playing with other stars. It would make life far easier for Jayson Tatum offensively.
Boston would also be able to run a more potent small lineup. Durant is a good defender with more length than either Tatum or Brown, but he still moves well in the wake of his Achilles injury.
Naturally, accepting Brooklyn’s counter would also take something away from Boston’s small lineups — and just the defense in general. Your anchor on that end would be gone.
Shams Charania’s report for The Athletic indicated the C’s didn’t want to move on from Smart and additional assets in a Brown-centered trade, but that detail has to be more about Smart than the additional assets — meaning future draft picks. Even if the Celtics stand pat, they’re in position to win now and in the future because of the talent they’ve developed and accrued. This move might hurt the distant future, but it would make the present far superior. But what can’t be overlooked when diagnosing the future in this “what if” scenario is what it would mean for Tatum’s growth and the Celtics’ development as an organization.
Tatum and Durant are under contract through 2025-26. Brogdon is in Boston through 2024-25. By the end of his deal, Tatum will be 28. One would think surrounding Boston’s 24-year-old star with Durant, Brogdon, Robert Williams and several good role players (White, Al Horford and Grant Williams) should lead to a ring or two. Brogdon might want to stick around longer at that pointer, or maybe a different established talent would want to move to Boston.
More importantly, the Celtics would have rings, their home-grown superstar would be satisfied and have the experience he needs to contend for more titles, and the franchise would show it can handle migrating superstars — something they’ve had success with in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen but struggled with when courting free agent stars.
There’s still the matter of replacing Smart that would force the Celtics to look for more defensive help if they took Brooklyn’s counter, but the addition of Brogdon and still having White would make that easier to manage. Plus, what kind of defensive talent wouldn’t want to join up with a Celtics team led by Tatum and Durant?
Nothing wrong with the Celtics working to keep Smart in town, but if the Nets won’t budge, they need to reconsider this deal. Especially now that Brown knows he’s being used as trade bait, which probably won’t go over well with the guard if he stays in town.