The NBA playoffs aren’t yet over, but the free-agency speculation mill gives exactly zero craps.
Participating in a three-writer panel for CSNNE.com that touched upon the Boston Celtics’ offseason plans, A. Sherrod Blakely kind-of-sort-of dropped a bomb (h/t CBS Sports and Fox Sports for the transcription):
I think there’s a 35, 40 percent chance that he’s gonna come here. Here’s the thing about LaMarcus Aldridge: He’s going to look for a situation that is going to give him the best shot at going deep into the playoffs. My understanding is that the Celtics are going to be open to putting together some type of package deal where they would not only bring LaMarcus Aldridge, but they’d also bring in one of his good friends by the name is Wes Matthews. Now, if you’re the Celtics and you can put together a deal to get those two guys in town, you gotta do it.
Before we bathe in the hot-take tub, let’s digest this for a second. The Celtics want a star, yes. That’s a fact. Sort of like how the sky is blue, or how the NFL governing body is a joke, or how tater tots are best served extra crispy.
That doesn’t mean they’re going to get Aldridge. It doesn’t even mean they’re targeting him specifically. These seem to be Blakely’s own personal musings more than anything, not an actual rumor or concrete statements. He could be in the know and making informed guesses, but he’s not unequivocally saying the Celtics plan on handing Aldridge a max-contract offer at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 1.
The real news here is the logic employed. Pursuing both Aldridge and Wesley Matthews would be a tad weird. Perhaps Matthews can be had at discount because of his season-ending Achilles injury, but 1) signing him is a risk regardless and 2) the Celtics would be betting on 40 percent of the Portland Trail Blazers’ starting lineup anchoring a championship contender immediately or in the long run. And that just sounds weird.
Yeah, the Eastern Conference is worse the Western Conference. And sure, the Celtics have a budding coach in Brad Stevens and a nice stash of young talent. But even if Aldridge brings Matthews along for the ride, the Celtics would project as a downgrade of Aldridge’s present position. And if he’s going to downgrade, you’d expect him to at least join another superstar—like, say, Carmelo Anthony in New York.
To be even more honest, you wouldn’t expect him to downgrade. Trade up. That’s what free agency is supposed to be about. The San Antonio Spurs spring to mind here. And yeah, that’s about it.
Now, to be fair, the Celtics are a storied organization with a propensity for not making overly stupid decisions. They’ve stockpiled young prospects and have a ton of first-rounders coming their way, giving them the means to make a play for the next disgruntled superstar that comes available via trade, a state of existence that may intrigue Aldridge.
Or it may not intrigue Aldridge.
We don’t yet know.
But we will.
Eventually.
Just not now.
