Getty Images Lonzo Ball #2, Josh Hart #3 and Brandon Ingram #14 of the New Orleans Pelicans
Go big or go home — it’s a risky, albeit effective approach to doing business amidst NBA Trade SZN but this is one of Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge’s most crucial years of his tenure and his team is in dire need of a shakeup.
One player’s name being thrown into trade rumors is New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball — one of the more interesting potential targets for the Celtics. When you take into consideration the kind of point guard Ball is and couple it with All-Star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — two of the best premier scorers in the Eastern Conference — it’s worth looking into.
If the Celtics want to take a swing at Ball without compromising Boston’s star duo, Marcus Smart will have to be the centerpiece of any proposed packaged deal.
Celtics Trade Marcus Smart For Pelicans’ Lonzo Ball?
This would guarantee the Pelicans a two-time NBA All-Defense First Team recipient who’s on a very team-friendly deal that’s signed through 2022 along with future first-round draft pick capital.
Ainge may need to throw in up to three future firsts to secure Ball but, of course, he’s up against some stiff competition. After New York Posts’ Marc Stein reported the Los Angeles Clippers as interested in trading for Ball, the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls emerged as two new teams also reportedly interested in making a move for Lonzo.
The Bulls and Hawks are actively lurking, per Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
“There’s skepticism around the league that the Pelicans will move Lonzo Ball ahead of the deadline, but that won’t stop teams from trying,” O’Connor wrote via The Ringer. “League sources say the Bulls and Hawks are both in pursuit. Chicago offered Tomas Satoransky and second-round picks, but New Orleans is asking for at least one good first-round pick or a young player. Talks with Atlanta have revolved around Cam Reddish.”
This is where the Celtics don’t have the upper hand. Boston doesn’t have a highly-touted prospect like Hawks forward Cam Reddish — a 21-year-old with significant upside.
“New Orleans’s leverage is dinged by the fact that both Chicago and Atlanta will have cap space to make an expensive offer to Ball this offseason,” O’Connor wrote via The Ringer. “But they’d also be at risk of losing him for nothing or of being forced to match a contract more pricey than they’d like.”
Is Celtics’ Marcus Smart, Three Future First-Round Picks Enough?
Another advantage the Bulls and Hawks hold over the Celtics is cap space. The best Ainge can do is load up the deal with future firsts and hope to convince the Pelicans that the experience and notoriety that comes with a player like Smart is the next necessary step to becoming a perennial playoff team in the Western Conference.
Also, Boston could risk losing Ball to free agency during the offseason, which would be a devastating blow in the form of losing Smart for nothing. However, the lure of a deep playoff run — something Lonzo’s never experienced — in Boston, where things can eventually materialize into a trip to the NBA Finals, will be hard for Ball to refuse when it comes time to re-sign.
For a pass-first point guard, who can defend at a high level and connect on over 40% of his 3-pointers; it’s an ideal fit. Lonzo could be the key that would unlock some of the Celtics’ most-pressing issues.
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Whether it be defending the 3, making sure the ball is constantly moving or an outside touch; he checks a lot of the boxes. Especially when it involves competing to take down Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and the Brooklyn Nets alongside the brightest young tandem in the league; there’s a good chance Lonzo will stay, long-term.
Also worth noting: for the Celtics, the TPE wouldn’t apply.
Boston can match Ball’s contract with Smart’s deal, alone — this is a significant incentive for Danny, who through the flexibility the TPE offers, wouldn’t have to match contracts in a separate deal, where he would be pressed but still capable of reeling in more players, during the offseason.
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