Could The Celtics Pull Off A Bradley Beal Trade?
There is no question that the Boston Celtics are stuck in purgatory. They have young promising players but they lack depth and are dealing with the black cloud that is Kemba Walker. Things don’t feel close to turning around unless the Celtics can get their hands on a superstar player.
When the Lakers were lost with nowhere to turn, Anthony Davis bailed out the franchise and essentially demanded he be sent to LA. Why can’t Bradley Beal do the same with the Celtics? Sounds crazy on the surface but why can’t Boston be the team that lands Beal?
Does Kemba Walker have any value? Maybe, maybe not. Attaching a bunch of first round picks to Walker sounds a bit more enticing. I’m not sure how you get the trade down. The only thing I know is that a starting five of Payton Pritchard, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Robert Williams starts to move the needle into championship contention.
It’s become clear that Tatum and Brown are the stars. Pritchard and Timelord are the young pieces worth holding onto as key role players. Marcus Smart is also indispensable and you can’t afford to lose him. The Celtics need one star to really complete the set and throw their hats back into the contending bubble.
But how does Boston land Beal? The Celtics don’t have the assets they used to and Washington has shown no inclination to trade their uber talented shooting guard. It’s time to start putting pressure on the organization. That starts with Beal.
Little known fact, Beal and Tatum grew up together in the St. Louis area. They have known each other for a long time. The NBA is all about the stars connecting with other stars and trying to team up. Well, here is the Celtics opportunity to take advantage of that.
The All-Star game is coming up and Tatum is very exciting to possibly have the opportunity to play with his St. Louis friend:
“I’ve never, in organized basketball, played on the same team with him,” Tatum said of Beal after the Celtics’ 111-110 win over Washington. “So, that’d be special for us if we can. It’s going to be our first All-Star game together, but hopefully, we’ll be on the same team.”
Maybe a trade is even unrealistic this year. However, Beal will enter the final year of his contract for the 2021-22 season. Beal has a player option the following year that he will decline regardless. Next year the Wizards need to look to move Beal or risk losing him for nothing.
If Tatum and Beal really want to play together, they need to put pressure on the Washington front office. Make it known Beal wants to play in Boston and won’t re-sign elsewhere. It’s exactly what Anthony Davis did. Suddenly, trade interest elsewhere dried up and Davis got his wish being traded to the Lakers.
Maybe it’s crazy, maybe it’s food for thought. It’s hard to find a way the Celtics dig themselves out of this hole. Beal is the one superstar that could theoretically become available and should be interested in playing for Boston.
