Rate This Potential Celtics Trade Package For Anthony Davis

There are obviously a lot of moving parts when it comes to the Celtics trading Anthony Davis, but one thing we’ve been hearing is that whatever Kyrie ends up doing it’s not going to have any impact whatsoever on Ainge’s decision. If there’s one thing we know about Ainge it’s that he has gigantic testicles and is making it very clear that they do not allow risk to determine what they to or don’t do with their roster

Because make no mistake about it, if you thought there was risk in the deal for Kyrie, well you need to multiply that by a billion when it comes to Anthony Davis. We had a whole year of Klutch Sports leaking out that Davis will resign with every team under the sun but the Celtics, and you have to think that the success of OKC with Paul George and potentially TOR with Kawhi if he stays will start this new trend of teams realizing they just have to take the plunge and hope for the best. For the Celtics though it’s complicated in my opinion. If Kyrie bounces you don’t have that second superstar to pair with Davis which we’re seeing you definitely need in order to be true, consistent contenders. Then let’s also look at the potential price it would cost to even make this trade happen.

If there’s one thing as Celtics fans that we all need to accept it’s the fact that if this trade happens it’s going to hurt from a talent perspective. This isn’t going to be the Kyrie trade or the Big 3 trade or anything like that. Since their Draft picks are kinda shitty compared to some other trade options the Celtics are going to have to make up that difference with young talent. For example if that SAC pick was top 5 or something maybe that saves them from having to throw certain players in. You look at that proposed package and it definitely fits the bill and is basically every player Celtics fans would kill someone for. Is that better than the Lakers young core plus #4 or the Knicks young core plus #3? Depends on what David Griffin wants.

What I care about is what would be left if this happens. My hope would be if this did go down you could find a way to resign Mook and Baynes because this team will need toughness. I’m also assuming Terry and Kyrie are both gone so really you’re left with

PG – TBD

SG – Jaylen Brown

SF- Gordon Hayward

PF – Anthony Davis

C – Al Horford

With a bench of Mook, Baynes, and whatever is left in terms of the draft picks they still have/free agents they bring in. Is that roster good enough to convince Davis to stay? Who knows. Maybe with two bad attitude guys gone that team flourishes. Maybe it’s a 4-6 seed and loses in the second round. Even if the Celts get our #1 choice in free agent point guards in Patrick Beverly, is that even good enough?

The big question is obviously what version of Hayward are you getting. The Hayward we saw vs MIL or the Hayward that is an All Star caliber player? I am of the thought that with a full summer healthy Hayward will be better, as well as a less clogged roster, but there’s still a good chance he never truly returns to his UTA form. In a twist, if Kyrie were to hear of this plan and decide to stay and you insert him into that PG slot, well that’s a much more talented unit and if he and Davis really want to play together would obviously help Ainge’s chances at keeping AD in Boston.

Honestly, I go back and forth with this every day. Part of me prefers to just stay the course, develop the young talent and use future cap space after Horford comes off the books to land other big fish. You might think that’s taking a step back, but I’ll remind you this team lost in the second round this season WITH all this “talent”. You do that trade and Kyrie isn’t there and then AD bounces, you are a disaster moving forward plain and simple. If Kyrie walks and you don’t make that trade at least you have a plethora of good young talent and financial flexibility moving forward. The other part of me keeps thinking back to that Ainge quote and how he’s basically had a hard on for Anthony Davis for years. It makes me nervous with him being a Klutch client and how that could play into his future plans. It feels like Ainge just wants to get him in the building at any cost, and not worry about the future.

In hindsight people now say the Celtics were crazy for not giving up whatever the price was for Kawhi last summer. We forget at the time that we all had no idea about his health and all the reports were locking him into LA. But this AD situation is different in my opinion because it’s going to cost basically twice as much. The trend in today’s NBA is to just say fuck it and roll the dice for elite talent so it wouldn’t shock me if that’s where Ainge went, but there’s no denying that whatever way he goes it’s going to shape this franchise for the foreseeable future. I’m sick just thinking about it.

So I’ll ask you. What do you think of that purposed package and would you make the deal? Same qualifications, no Kyrie, no Terry, and a gigantic matzah ball of risk.