If the Boston Celtics do not trade for Blake Griffin, then they’ll target Russell Westbrook. And if they don’t get either one of those two, then they’ll target another big name.
Such is life in Beantown, apparently.
From the Sporting News’ Sean Deveney:
The Celtics are up to something. Talk to any front-office executive here at the annual Summer League festivities , and the consensus is that a major deal involving Boston is coming soon.
But it might not be the deal most were expecting. While speculation has held that the Celtics would pursue Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook after Kevin Durant left the team to join the Warriors , sources told Sporting News that Westbrook’s representatives have been given no word of a potential deal. Westbrook can become a free agent after the season, so it would be part of the due diligence of the Celtics to find out if he’d be willing to consider staying in Boston long-term.
…
The likely target for the Celtics, according to front-office sources, is Clippers forward Blake Griffin. The Clippers have been weighing trading Griffin all season , and the possibility of a three-team package involving Sacramento sending Rudy Gay to the Clippers has emerged. The Celtics would give up some number of their upcoming draft picks, but opposing front-office members say they don’t want to give up either Brooklyn pick Boston can own in the next two years.
This sounds like typical Celtics. They are always involved in these splashy rumors, yet they hardly ever strike a deal. And this time may be no different.
Or maybe it is different.
Signing Al Horford, 30, changes the Celtics’ timeline quite a bit. They are no longer a balancing act, toeing the line between a rebuilding squad and competitive unit. They are trying to become a contender. And that demands they consider consolidating their assets into players like Griffin and Westbrook if given the chance.
While we don’t know if either Griffin or Westbrook is truly available, we do know the Celtics have enough picks and prospects and assets to join talks for any superstar that may be available. The problem, as it always is, comes back to price.
Both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers will want a king’s ransom for their respective superstars. But Celtics president Danny Ainge is notoriously stingy–infamous for lowballing prospective trade partners. That the Celtics don’t want to forfeit any of Brooklyn’s picks (2017 swap, 2018 outright) makes sense, since both Griffin and Westbrook can become free agents next summer, and you don’t want to fork over probable top-five selections for glorified rentals.
Thus, the dilemma. Shoot, it may not even be a dilemma. Oklahoma City and Los Angeles may, for now, be unwilling to move these All-Stars. But if they are open to such a transaction, you can bet the Celtics will have to bite the bullet in order to make things work, doing what they’ve thus far avoided doing: empty their asset treasure chest.
