Pelicans Rumors: Top 5 Boston Celtics assets in a hypothetical Anthony Davis trade

The front office of the New Orleans Pelicans is faced with the task of trading away their franchise cornerstone, Anthony Davis. Of the multiple organizations in the running to acquire his services, let’s look and rank the assets of the Boston Celtics.

We discussed in a previous article what the makeup of a Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans trade for Anthony Davis might look like, which you can view here. For today’s purposes, let’s dive a little deeper into each asset individually, and rank them from lowest to highest.

Just like the Pelicans, the Celtics enter this offseason with more questions than answers. Their primary concern is where their superstar point guard, Kyrie Irving, is going to ultimately land this free agency. For a team had aspirations of winning a title before the season began, their end result is all the more crushing. In last year’s postseason, they battled all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, falling short in Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They were one quarter away from the NBA Finals, and that was without their two proven stars, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Their youth stepped up, and the brand of basketball that was displayed by the Celtics in last year’s playoffs was oriented around a high level of teamwork. With such a showing, they entered this season with high hopes, and deservingly so.

Those hopes fell short. The team underwhelmed. And now with a second-round exit to the Milwaukee Bucks, the dynamic of the team is likely to change. Will they move on without Kyrie Irving and rely back on the youth that overachieved? Or will they convince him to re-sign by adding in an additional megastar in Anthony Davis?

The Celtics might believe they are just another star away from figuring this thing out. And with interest shown in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes when the demand was made public in January—it’s conceivable that they re-enter the fray. If that is the case, they present appealing options for the Pelicans. Let’s rank their assets in a hypothetical trade.

Honorable Mention- 2019 First round pick (MEM)

The Memphis Grizzlies have protection on their 2019 first-round draft pick. If it falls 1-8—which seems likely—they get to keep it. If it falls outside 1-8, the Boston Celtics rightfully own it.

As is stands, the Celtics have a 42.6 percent chance of landing the Grizzlies pick (according to nbcsports.com). So there is a chance that they receive it this year and it does not convey until 2020, or afterward 2021, where the pick becomes unprotected. If they do land the pick this year, it could be used as trade bait in the Davis sweepstakes—just don’t get your hopes up.

However—even if it falls in the 1-8 range—it can still be used in a trade. But with its increasing worth, if it does convey, it could be a little too steep and the Celtics don’t engage in trade with it. Or, they open with it and exclude some of the following assets. There’s a lot of substance with this pick, so let’s put it to the side for now, but not ignore it’s still there.

* Additional honorable mention- Solomon Hill cap relief. Okay, so technically this does not count as an asset. But best believe it could be used as leverage in any hypothetical trade. Sorry, Solomon.

#5) 2019 First round pick (LAC)

The Boston Celtics acquired this pick back in 2016 when Danny Ainge traded away two second-rounders (31,35) to the Memphis Grizzlies for a first-round draft pick in 2019 (via bostonglobe.com)

With this selection originally being with the Los Angeles Clippers, and also being lottery protected—it does not have the same appeal as some of their other draft assets. However, if history has proved anything, this should still be considered a high-value asset if the correct scouting is done. There’s a long history of teams stealing picks in the latter half of the first round or the second for that matter.

Dark horses like Bol Bol could still be on the table, and with upside like his, this potential 20th overall pick could prove to be the steal of the Draft.

#4) Marcus Smart

Now if I’m a Boston Celtics fan, the thought of moving on from Smart is heart-wrenching. He has no quit in his game, his motor is immeasurable. He defends, he hustles, he’s a player every team wants and no team wants to play against. But, with a talent like Anthony Davis on the table, no one is off the table. Ask Celtics GM Danny Ainge, he will say the same thing.

In all likelihood, Marcus Smart would have to be involved to expedite negotiations. In 2018/19 Smart averaged: 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals. His stats may sound pedestrian, but they do not fully encompass his worth on the basketball court.

The Pelicans were amongst the worst teams in the league defensively, and his tenacity on that end of the court could prove contagious to the youth in their locker room.

#3) 2019 First round pick (SAC)

This pick had an opportunity to be amazing. The Sacramento Kings have not seen the playoffs since 2006, and in that span, they’ve been incredibly subpar. With this selection being top 1 protected, you would think that going into this season it would have conveyed to a top 5 lottery pick. That’s not how things panned out.

The Kings would go on to win 39 games in 2018/19, their highest total in 13 seasons. Which ultimately means, this was the worst year to have a top 1 protected pick from them. With their record of 39-43, the Sacramento Kings sit with the worst odds out of any lottery team of landing first. It’s also unlikely this pick enters the top 10.

So instead of owning a potential top 5 selection, the Boston Celtics will probably land with the 14th pick (mathematically speaking). But nonetheless, it’s still a lottery pick—and should be valued as such. As aforementioned with the Clippers pick the Celtics own, you can definitely find team altering talent with this selection.

#2) Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown has shown spurts of being a dominant two-way player in today’s NBA. He’s still at the young age of 22-years-old. His game is likely to mature and develop as he progresses in the league. But that’s also not saying he’s not already a very good NBA player.

Brown had a difficult time inserting himself within the Celtics rotation this season, especially with the depth they have. He took a bump in minutes, 25.9 this season compared to 30.7 the previous year. However, and especially as the season went on, his game got stronger. He finished the 2018/19 campaign with averages of 13.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and shot 46.5 percent from the field.

What’s noteworthy is how Brown’s game elevates in the postseason. With an expanded role in last year’s playoffs, he thrived. His points total jumped to 18.0 per game, and he connected on 2.4 threes a game, shooting 39 perfect from deep and 46.6 percent overall. He was put in a tough spot this season with the Celtics. Given their depth, it was taxing on Brown to get his looks, while also worrying that everyone was getting theirs.

#1) Jayson Tatum

Alright, let’s try and put what we saw Tatum do, or not do, in the second round against the Bucks to the side. Did he have a rough series? Yes. Yes, he did. Does that ultimately define him as a player? Absolutely not. We are a reactionary generation, whether we want to admit it or not. And as it stands, our perception of Jayson Tatum is the polar opposite of what it was last season.

What happened to the rookie that dunked on LeBron James in Game 7 of an elimination game and helped the Celtics take the King to the brink of elimination? Tatum failed to find a consistent offensive rhythm all season. But could there be reasoning for that?

Expectations were sky high for the 21-year-old this season. We expected a follow-up performance to what we witnessed in the postseason a year prior. It never really happened. But could those expectations be detrimental to his organic growth? Could this all be situational? Tatum’s best string of games came without Irving and Hayward in the lineup.

With them back in the roster, the team never found a rotation that worked. No one struggled more with finding his way into the offense more than Tatum. Okay, there’s an argument for Gordon Hayward there too. But nonetheless, you implement Tatum into a situation where he can grow at his own pace—he can still turn into the megastar that we expect.

What do you think of the Boston Celtics assets? Have they deteriorated? Are they still willing to even trade for Anthony Davis, given their internal problems? Let us know in the comments!