Anew Boston Celtics trade idea doing the rounds would see the storied franchise land Denver Nuggets All-Star Jamal Murray, forming a new Big 3 in Beantown alongside Jayson Tatum and Paul George.
Celtics Trade Pitch Lands Jamal Murray
Celtics would receive: Jamal Murray
Nuggets would receive: Derrick White, Sam Hauser
The clean 2-for-1 trade does not include any picks or additional salary fillers, making it a very feasible scenario for both the Nuggets and Celtics.
Why the Celtics Do It
Are the Celtics really ready to trust Derrick White’s shot again? Last year, the All-Defensive guard hit a shooting slump he couldn’t recover from.
After shooting a league-low 32% among players taking at least 8.0 threes per game, he stunk it up even more in the playoffs, converting on a brutal 27% from beyond the arc. Many felt White’s inability to make open shots was a big reason why the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs.
This hypothetical Celtics trade idea comes with its fair share of risks. Joe Mazzulla’s team will struggle to replace White’s intangibles and defensive IQ. However, Jamal Muray’s elite shotmaking and playmaking could help soften the blow.
A starting five of Murray, Payton Pritchard, Paul George, Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson (or Neemias Queta) can put together an elite offense for Mazzulla. And the defense should still be serviceable, given that George and Tatum still rate as good perimeter stoppers and Prichard is a pest who fights through every ball screen.
Also worth noting is that Murray is signed through 2028-29, giving the C’s at least a two-year window with the Big 3 of Tatum, George and Murray, and an extended window with the pairing of Tatum and Murray. It could led to Banner No. 19.
Why the Nuggets Do It
Jamal Murray isn’t the worst defensive guard in the league (he’s no Trae Young), but the Toronto native got exposed and picked on by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs this year. So much so that Timberwolves wing Jaden McDaniels called out Murray as a “bad defender” while revealing that his team’s game plan was to relentlessly pick apart and target the Nuggets guard.
One wonders if the Nuggets will run into similar issues next year if they keep their starting backcourt of Murray and Christian Braun. There’s a reason they have been unable to get past the second round of the postseason since their 2023 title run.
Derrick White is the sort of culture-changing guard who can almost singlehandedly transform Denver’s defense. A starting five of White, Braun (or Hauser), Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic projects as a much better defensive unit. Furthermore, White — who had a down year as a three-point shooter last season — could regain his touch playing off of Jokic’s phenomenal playmaking. After all, the three-time MVP has an uncanny knack of finding open shooters.
Celtics Trade Pitch Lands Jamal Murray to Form New Big 3 in Boston