On the heels of arguably their best win of the regular season, the Boston Celtics topped the Milwaukee Bucks 117-103 at TD Garden Monday night — which evened them back to a .500 record (14-14).
But, while the Celtics are still six games behind first place in the Eastern Conference, could this be a golden opportunity for the president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, to step in and drastically improve the roster?
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NBA trade season is just around the corner. Fans will wait to see if Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons or Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard will, respectively, be on the move within the next six-to-eight weeks.
Kings’ Buddy Hield to Boston?
In the meantime, Stevens should be keeping tabs on the Sacramento Kings’ situation in light of a new report. BoardRoom reporter and co-host of the Pull-Up Podcast with Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, Jordan Schultz, says the Kings have officially placed their sharpshooting veteran Buddy Hield on the trading block.
“#Kings have made guard Buddy Hield available, league sources say. Hield’s 3-point shooting (40 percent career) and overall scoring ability could be a huge boost for a contending team searching for added floor spacing,” Schultz tweeted out. “I’m told the asking price is hefty but feasible.”
#Kings have made guard Buddy Hield available, league sources say. Hield’s 3-point shooting (40 percent career) and overall scoring ability could be a huge boost to a contending team searching for added floor spacing. I’m told the asking price is hefty, but feasible.
Monday’s win against the champion Bucks was a great example of how explosive head coach Ime Udoka’s offense can be when there’s a vast array of 3-pointers raining down in concert with hard-nosed defense. The Celtics, connecting on 20-of-47 of their threes, shot 42.6% from behind the arc in their win against Milwaukee.
Jayson Tatum’s season-high 42 points included seven 3-pointers, Grant Williams (17 points) connected on five off the bench, and Jaylen Brown made 3-of-7 from behind the arc. Boston’s outside shooting, along with constant ball movement, not only kept its opponent on its heels defensively, but it also freed up the Celtics’ All-Star duo offensively — which led to open looks and high-percentage shots.
Adding a player of Hield’s caliber while consolidating rotational pieces is always ideal.
Celtics’ Trade Package for Hield
In terms of adding talent that would directly improve Tatum and Brown, Hield undoubtedly fits the bill. This season, Buddy has posted the worst shooting percentages of his career thus far — which Stevens and the Celtics are hoping will work in their favor as the proverbial asking price for Hield, a 40% career 3-point shooter, per Basketball-Reference.com, has lowered.
Here’s how the trade breaks down.
- Boston Celtics receive:
- Buddy Hield, SG
- Sacramento Kings receive:
- Josh Richardson, G/F
- Aaron Nesmith, G/F
- Juan Hernangomez, F/C
- 2023 first-round pick
It will be a challenging move for Stevens to maneuver with the Celtics’ 2020 first-round pick in Aaron Nesmith as the existential centerpiece. The second-year wing has yet to prove himself as an everyday NBA player.
However, a future first, along with rotational pieces, could be enough for a team on the verge of resetting its roster to agree to a deal. This move would also position the Kings with enough cap space to sign an unrestricted free agent in summer 2023, when all three — Richardson, Nesmith (team-option), Hernangomez — contracts expire.
The Celtics’ offense has yearned for a reliable 3-pointer shooter for a long time. It’s been nine years since Ray Allen took his talents to South Beach to join the Miami Heat, and Boston hasn’t come close to finding its replacement ever since.
Is Hield one of the greatest 3-point shooters of all time? No, not even close. So, maybe the Allen mention is slightly unfair. However, a change of scenery could be just what Buddy needs to jolt his outside touch — where Hield is making 35% of his threes, per Basketball-Reference, this season.
He’s also averaging 15.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting at a 38.2% clip from the floor.
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Why Trading for Kings Guard Could Save The 2021-22 Celtics: Report