Twitter Trades to Talk About
Oh, Twitter. What a wonderfully toxic place you’ve always been. The constant negativity and hatred really get me going in the morning. Nothing’s better, though, than Twitter after the Celtics lose. Well, the Celtics had the ultimate loss last week when they were eliminated from the playoffs and Twitter did not disappoint. The “couch GMs” came out to play and lit the whole internet on fire.
I’ve seen everything from the normal “get rid of Wanamaker and Kanter” to “Jaylen Brown needs to be traded because he doesn’t care enough.” I’m going to break down the most common suggestions I’ve seen on Twitter so far and I want you guys to comment down below what you think.
Gordon Hayward for Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner
First of all, Hayward gets way too much hate on social media. People are going as far as saying that he wasn’t even worth the max when the Celtics signed him. This guy has gone through one life-altering injury, many smaller injuries, and even missed the birth of his child to try and help the C’s win a championship. I can’t believe people have the nerve to come at him after all he’s done.
What’s worse is that he’s actually been amazing for the C’s and people are just too stupid to notice. Everyone just looks at his base stats and thinks, “oh, he’s averaging less than he was in Utah so he must be worse.” First of all, he’s now the fourth scoring option on the C’s, versus being the first option in Utah. Second of all, he’s only averaging around four points less than when he was with the Jazz. Then lastly, his efficiency is as good, if not better than it was in his All-Star season. Hayward is plenty good for the money he earns.
Moving on to the actual trade, however… it’s just not that good. Don’t get me wrong I love Turner for this Boston team, but a move of Hayward for Oladipo just doesn’t seem worth it to me. You could go back and forth on who’s better at this point in their careers. Oladipo is obviously the better defender, but Hayward is a better passer and more efficient. The argument that Hayward is too injury prone doesn’t even work because so is Oladipo.
If it were me making this move, on either side of the deal, I would probably turn it down. Indiana is making a pretty lateral move, while Boston would have to give up some serious draft capital to pull it off. A no-go for me, but I do really like Turner if the C’s could get him some other way.
Marcus Smart and the 14th Pick for the 2nd Pick
This one is a tough pill to swallow for me because I absolutely love Smart. He’s been my favorite Celtic for years and is one of the most unique players in the NBA. His defensive intensity and heart are irreplaceable, but at some point, you have to realize that there are other important things to a basketball team.
The 2nd overall pick is such a huge step up from the 14th because it can get you guys like LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman, and others who have the ability to change the direction of a franchise. In some cases, such as Detroit or New York, they would come in and be the number one guy. However, with the situation the Celtics are in, they could pair up with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to create a big three for years to come.
Let’s say the Celtics drafted Ball, for example. That would leave the starting lineup the same, for now, and have Ball replace Smart off the bench. Then, when Walker and Hayward start to get older the Celtics have Ball still who can step in and be on the same timeline as Brown and Tatum for years to come. It’s a very high risk, high reward trade, but with Danny Ainge at the helm, I have lots of faith that he can make the right draft selection.
As much as it pains me to say this, and my colleague BannerTownSam would disagree with me, I would take this deal. The second overall pick is just too much value for the Celtics not to pull the trigger on, and it could help set them up for the future, too.
Jaylen Brown for RJ Barrett and a First Round Pick
I’m not going to spend too much time on this because it’s just that moronic. Why in the hell would the Celtics ever want to trade Brown for anything less than a superstar? He has all the potential in the world to become one of the best two-way players in the league, and someone told me we should give him up for Barrett and a first. Their argument? He doesn’t care enough about basketball.
This dude was one of the only players who looked like he cared early on in the Miami series, and you have the audacity to tell me that he doesn’t work hard enough? I don’t get what goes through peoples’ heads before they speak. The simple answer is no. No chance in hell I do this trade, or any trade involving Jaylen Brown in the near future. He’s in Boston for a long, long time and I like it that way.
Those are all the trades I’ve seen as crazy enough to discuss. Some were good, some were bad, and some were downright insane. Let me know in the comments what other trades you see, and give me some more trade ideas to react to as the offseason approaches.
