Getty Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis
Danny Ainge’s hope for the New Orleans Pelicans to hold off on trading Anthony Davis until the summer worked out in his team’s favor. Now, when July 1 rolls around, the Boston Celtics can make their full-blown push for Davis and put the best possible package on the table. But the question is, what will that package look like?
For starters, it’s worth noting that the Celtics couldn’t trade for Davis during the season due to the Rose Rule. This makes it impossible for a team to have two designated players on their roster at the same time, and Kyrie Irving falls under that category.
As for the future of Irving, that’s another story, but Ainge and the Celtics will start their full-blown push for Davis in the coming months. And it appears that push could include a large number of draft picks heading to the Pelicans.
Celtics Could Offer Four Picks & Jayson Tatum for Anthony Davis?
There are bound to be a number of teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, who make a big push for Davis. But as Sean Deveney of Sporting News pointed out, the Celtics could potentially make the best offer of the bunch. He puts together a hypothetical deal involving Jayson Tatum (who’s believed to be the key piece of any trade), along with a whopping four draft picks.
If the Pels don’t make a play for Williamson, then the packages that could be offered by Boston figure to be the most attractive. The Celtics could build a deal around forward Jayson Tatum, their three first-round picks this year (Nos. 14, 20 and 22) and the Memphis pick they own, which is likely to be available unprotected in 2021, unless it slips to No. 9 in this year’s lottery.
The Celtics are loaded with picks this year, picking up three regardless of the situation. They would also add the Memphis Grizzlies pick if it lands outside of No. 8, which is iffy. As Deveney points out, that pick is unprotected in 2021, but also is protected 1-6 in 2020, which RealGM detailed.
Kyrie Irving’s Future With Celtics
Another big question along with the topic of acquiring Davis is whether or not Irving will re-sign with the Celtics this offseason. He made it known previously that he intended to but hasn’t offered any verification on that. Boston clearly views the potential to re-sign Irving as a way to possibly convince Davis to eventually sign his own long-term deal with the team.
While losing Tatum is less than ideal, the Celtics are unlikely to pass on any chance to land Davis. But the question becomes whether a name like Jaylen Brown would also need to be included in the trade. Much of that discussion could depend on how the trade market shapes up and how strong the other offers for the All-Star forward are when talks ramp back up.
READ NEXT: Lakers’ Anthony Davis Trade ‘Built Around’ Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram