Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens will head back to the drawing board this summer in an attempt to restock the roster around superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown after a disappointing first-round exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers.
One player Boston is liable to pursue, or at least make a few phone calls and inquire about, is Aaron Gordon of the Denver Nuggets. Denver also exited in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs after earning the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
“Several teams are expected to contact the Nuggets as early as before the 2026 NBA Draft with immediate interest in Gordon,” Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Sunday, May 3. “Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics are among the many win-now teams Gordon would obviously fit in with as realistic trade suitors.”
Derrick White, 1st-Round Pick Swap Might Prove Celtics’ Trade Price for Aaron Gordon
GettyDerrick White of the Boston Celtics.
Siegel noted that meaningful draft capital and a quality player is likely to prove Denver’s asking price, if the franchise is willing to consider flipping Gordon at all.
Boston can get close to matching Gordon’s $34.5 million salary with the $30.35 million that Derrick White is going to earn in 2026-27 and would need only to include another player near the end of the bench to make the money work.
White is an elite-level role player who has recently contributed to a championship, just as Gordon, who offers advantages on both sides of the court. He plays the guard position rather than forward and has had a stronger recent health history than has Gordon.
The biggest issue with a deal swapping the two players is what kind of draft compensation the Nuggets would want back, and what level of compensation Boston might feel is warranted, if any, in a trade of players who are relatively evenly matched in terms of value to a contending team.
It is difficult to imagine Stevens and the Celtics would be willing to send more than a future first-round pick swap to Denver along with White. Boston can offer such an asset in 2026, 2027, 2030 and 2031, per ESPN.
Aaron Gordon Can Offer Celtics Some Elements Al Horford Provided During NBA Finals Runs in 2022, 2024
GettyAl Horford, formerly of the Boston Celtics.
Gordon presents risks as a trade option for Boston given all his health concerns.
He battled through a hamstring issue that hampered him during Denver’s second-round loss to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a seven-game series last playoffs. Gordon then dealt with a calf injury against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Nuggets’ six-game playoff defeat in Round 1 this year.
Gordon is a year younger than White and will turn 31 ahead of next season. He could provide some of the same elements of stretch offense and versatile defense along the front line that Al Horford did during the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals in 2022 and the title in 2024.
That said, White is Boston’s top potential trade chip, assuming the team won’t entertain dealing either Tatum or Brown. The Celtics may decide to keep White. Or, if the team decides to shop him, it may look for a player closer than Gordon to superstar status.
One option might be Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, who is presumably on the trade block this summer heading into his age-35 campaign and the final year of his contract in L.A.
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