Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics
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Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics
The Feb. 5 trade deadline is less than two weeks away. As such, the Boston Celtics will have some important decisions to make, as they weigh up whether to try and strengthen the roster for a postseason run.
On Friday, Jan. 16, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale proposed a three-team trade that would cement the Celtics as championship contenders for the foreseeable future. The proposed trade looks like this:
Celtics Get: Bam Adebayo and Justin Champagnie
Miami Heat Get: Anfernee Simons, Hugo Gonzalez, Boston’s 2026 first-round pick, a 2030 first-round pick swap via Boston, Boston’s 2031 first-round pick and the less favorable of Boston’s and Cleveland’s 2031 second-round pick.
Washington Wizards Get: Sam Hauser, a 2026 second-round pick via the Brooklyn Nets.
“Adebayo is close to Nirvana for how Boston plays,” Favale wrote. “It’d be nice if he were making more threes, but attempting nearly four per game is high enough volume to preserve spacing and roll him out alongside one of the team’s shakier-shooting wings or even Neemias Queta…Surrendering so much dead-eye shooting with Simons and Hauser is cause for pause. The Celtics should be able to weather the storm with Brown, White and mid-range king Payton Pritchard, who’s hitting more of his triples since the turn of the calendar.”
A trio of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Abebayo would be more than enough to anchor the Celtics for the next five or more years.
Scalabrine Hasn’t Been Impressed With Adebayo
During the Celtics 119-114 win over the Heat on Thursday, former Celtics champion Brian Scalabrine shared his disappointment in how Abebayo has been playing this season.
“I look at him as a 25 PPG scorer with 9 rebounds and 6 assist,” Scalabrine said. “He’s no where near that and idk why. I actually do not have a reason, I can’t watch him and tell you the reason he can’t score. I just think he should score more.”
In fairness, Scalabrine has always been a vocal fan of Adebayo. However, the veteran big man has endured a difficult season thus far. In 33 games, Adebayo is averaging 17 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 45.5% shooting from the field. Solid numbers, but noticeably below what we’ve come to expect from him. Perhaps a change of scenery, and sharing the locker room with Tatum, who is one of his best friends, would be ideal for Adebayo.
Celtics’ Would Struggle To Land Adebayo
There’s no doubt that Adebayo would be an ideal addition for the Celtics. However, it’s hard to envision Pat Riley willingly improving a direct rival, especially when the trade could position Boston to dominate in the East for years to come.
The only way Miami would likely consider sending Adebayo to Boston is if they opt to enter a full-scale rebuild and have faith in Hugo Gonzalez developing into an All-Star (or better) type of talent. Of course, they would also get a considerable amount of draft picks for their troubles, too.
The Celtics need another center, there’s no doubt about it. Adebayo would be a perfect fit. Unfortunately, Miami, under Riley, is not the type of franchise to enter a rebuild. The Heat retools on the fly. Furthermore, Adebayo’s impending three-year $161.3 million deal would ensure the Celtics are a second luxury tax apron team moving forward. Unfortunately for Boston, that would limit its ability to round out the rest of the roster.
And for those reasons, Celtics fans shouldn’t get too hopeful of seeing Adebayo in green any time soon.