{"id":47655,"date":"2022-06-20T10:16:22","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T14:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=47655"},"modified":"2022-06-20T10:16:22","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T14:16:22","slug":"boston-celtics-two-trades-to-consider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2022\/06\/20\/boston-celtics-two-trades-to-consider\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston Celtics: Two Trades to Consider"},"content":{"rendered":"

After falling to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals<\/a>, the Boston Celtics may very well consider trades this offseason to bolster their championship chances. They took a 2-1 lead over the Warriors but then lost three games in a row. The team holds plenty of talent, but other teams are going to improve so Boston must follow suit.<\/p>\n

Boston Celtics: Two Trades to Consider<\/h2>\n

A Straight Swap<\/h3>\n

Boston Celtics receive Cameron Payne<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns receive Daniel Theis<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boston has a stud defensive player in\u00a0Marcus Smart<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>at point guard. He’ll be a starter.\u00a0Derrick White<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is a strong bench player, although he’s not a true point guard.\u00a0Payton Pritchard<\/a><\/strong> is the other option. Due to this, Boston can look for more help in the position. Payne holds plenty of recent playoff experience with Phoenix, so he can be a solid option for the Celtics. This past season, Payne averaged close to 11 points, five assists, and three boards per game. Payne was a rotational piece for Phoenix throughout the regular season, although was fazed out of the rotation in their series versus the Dallas Mavericks. Perhaps Phoenix is ready to move on.<\/p>\n

It looks increasingly likely that\u00a0Deandre Ayton<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>will be departing the Suns<\/a> this offseason. Due to this, they’ll be looking for a center. Theis isn’t necessarily a franchise-changing player, but he’s a solid piece overall. Last season, while splitting time on different teams, Theis averaged about eight points, five boards, and a block per game. He’s capable of more as well should he start. The Suns have plenty of offensive firepower, so finding a decently reliable center with defensive prowess will be on their to-do list should Ayton leave. Theis can temporarily fill the hole.<\/p>\n

More Backcourt Help<\/h3>\n

Boston Celtics receive Eric Bledsoe<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Portland Trail Blazers receive Daniel Theis and Aaron Nesmith<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s likely Portland wants to rid themselves of Bledsoe’s contract. They’re looking to spend this offseason building around Damian Lillard<\/a><\/strong>. Bledsoe looks like a shadow of his former self now, but perhaps a change of scenery is what’s needed. Backing up Smart, while also playing alongside White off the bench, is just what he needs. Bledsoe isn’t a starter anymore, although being a role player on a championship contender is fitting for him. He can initiate the offense in the second unit, while also having the ability to play stern defense. His contract isn’t ideal, but it’s a gamble worth taking for Boston as they now know they’re ready for championship contention.<\/p>\n

It’s no sure thing that Portland will retain\u00a0Jusuf Nurkic<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>this offseason. Even if they do, they could use depth and help throughout the roster. Theis, of course, brings this. Possibly rotating between Nurkic and Theis is a very respectable center rotation and may keep Lillard content. Nesmith never quite lived up to expectations as a former lottery pick. With that being said, he’s still just 22 years old and has plenty of time to make a name for himself as a rotational player. Perhaps the chance is there in Portland. One thing’s for certain, however, – Nesmith can shoot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After falling to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics may very well consider trades this offseason to bolster their championship chances. They took a 2-1 lead over the Warriors but then lost three games in a row. The team holds plenty of talent, but other teams are going to improve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2248,"featured_media":47667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1608,62],"tags":[380,1494,1090,133,428],"class_list":["post-47655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celtics","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-cameron-payne","tag-daniel-theis","tag-derrick-white","tag-eric-bledsoe","tag-marcus-smart"],"modified_by":"Kunning Chen, Department Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}