Los Angeles Lakers: What is the likelihood of an Anthony Davis trade?
By Ethan Temkin
Boston Celtics
At the beginning of the season, everything looked to be going right for the Boston Celtics. With the return of All-Stars Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, the expected improvement from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and a treasure trove of future picks, the Celtics were poised to dominate the Eastern Conference for years to come.
This recent debacle of a playoff run has made their future very uncertain, with a disgruntled Kyrie Irving and Al Horford set to hit free agency, as well as the picks they own via the Kings and Clippers not being nearly as good as it was projected to be.
Still, the Celtics have a number of valuable assets they can throw in, such as young talent in Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, proven talent in Gordon Hayward, and a potentially valuable 2020 top-6 protected Memphis Grizzlies that becomes unprotected in 2021.
However, same as the Knicks, a lot of Boston’s motivation to trade for Anthony Davis will depend on how free agency goes for them.
Should Kyrie Irving decide to stay in Beantown, then Danny Ainge will almost certainly want to pair the star point-guard with Davis, who he has long coveted. However, if Kyrie decides to leave, then it makes less sense for the Celtics to forfeit a good chunk of their assets for what could very well be a one-year rental for Davis.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding Kyrie’s free agency, and Ainge’s tentativeness regarding putting Brown or Tatum in a deal, I’m putting the Boston Celtics as the least likely team to trade for Davis at the moment.