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The Boston Celtics watched as the Los Angeles Lakers sent a huge haul to the New Orleans Pelicans in a trade for star forward Anthony Davis. While the Celtics were rumored to have interest in Davis dating back to last season, the Lakers made a deal which the Pelicans apparently couldn’t refuse
So, what’s next for Danny Ainge and the Celtics? It may be a trade for Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal. According to The Athletic’s Jordan Brenner, Beal is a “prime option” for Boston, especially if Kyrie Irving leaves town in free agency.
Multiple sources point to Bradley Beal as prime option—particularly if Irving leaves. Beal is coming off his best season and showed a wider range of skills after the Wizards lost John Wall at the end of December. Not only did his scoring average jump to 27.2 points per game post-Wall, but he also looked comfortable handling increased playmaking responsibilities. Beal would fit neatly into a Celtics system that thrives on ball movement and doesn’t require a pure point guard—particularly if Gordon Hayward continues to work his way back toward his old self.
The story points to the fact that Beal will certainly have a high number of potential suitors, but the Celtics could unquestionably put together a strong offer for the talented guard. With that said, we’re going to take a look at what a potential trade for Beal could look like for Brad Stevens and company.
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Celtics’ Best Offer in Bradley Beal Trade
If the Celtics were open to including Jayson Tatum, it would make a potential path to land Beal far more straightforward, but I don’t view that as being realistic. There were rumblings that they wouldn’t include Tatum in a trade for Davis, and if that were the case then it’s unlikely he’d be in a package here. With that said, The Athletic and Jordan Brenner pointed to one source tossing out a Tatum, Marcus Smart and protected pick offer for the Wizards star.
“One league source suggested that Washington would need to strongly consider an offer of Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and a protected pick for Beal,” Brenner writes.
Another potential offer which was cited that does not feature Tatum included Smart, Jaylen Brown and two future first-round picks. This would be an option as a way for the Celtics to navigate around including Tatum, assuming Washington would consider it.
The Celtics making an offer which is potentially heavy on draft picks would make sense, considering they have three first-round selections this year. While their picks (14, 20, 22) it would appear likely that pairing two together with Smart and Brown could be enough to get the job done, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Jayson Tatum’s Inclusion in Bradley Beal Trade
The situation with Tatum is an interesting one, as the initial reports of the Celtics refusing to include him in a potential trade for Davis cooled off a bit as time went on. But how things were left pointed to the obvious fact that Boston values its young star on a level which would make a trade tough to come to terms on.
As ESPN’s Zach Lowe stated shortly after the Davis trade, he believes Tatum was available in the deal, but that the Celtics wouldn’t include much else in a package along with him. In turn, this makes it highly unlikely that the above trade with Tatum, Smart and a draft pick would get the job done.
That’s not to say a deal with Tatum couldn’t get done, but if the Celtics saw an avenue where a trade for Beal which didn’t include him was feasible, you would have to assume they’d be willing to offer more in order to keep him.
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