As the Kawhi Leonard story in San Antonio gets uglier by the day, rumors have begun to surface of the Spurs possibly looking to trade Kawhi this upcoming offseason. Possible trade destinations for Kawhi Leonard include (but are not limited to) the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Boston Celtics. Many green-teamers are likely excited about the prospect of the 2x NBA Defensive Player of the Year joining Kyrie Irving and a young medley of talent already in Boston, but let me be the one to officially pump the breaks on Kawhi to the Celtics.
Before I dive into the plethora of reasons that a trade for Kawhi Leonard might not be the best idea, I’d like to examine the current Boston Celtics roster. Notable members include Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford, all of whom are locked up through at least 2020. I believe that with each of these stars healthy, the Celtics are surefire contenders and probably the favorites in the East for the next few seasons. So, why would the Celtics need to trade for Kawhi Leonard? Well, the answer is simple: In theory, Kawhi is a top-five player in the league when healthy. However, as good as Kawhi would look in green, there are important considerations to make when looking at a potential deal for such a big-name player, the most important of which (in this case) being young talent already on the roster.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
These two pieces are huge when discussing a possible deal. In a trade with San Antonio, Ainge would likely have to give up one of his young stars––either Tatum or Brown––in combination with a draft pick, a player like Marcus Smart or Marcus Morris, and/or an additional asset such as Aron Baynes or Yabusele Guerschon. Personally, I’m not ready to deal either one of these young stars. At 20 years old, Jayson Tatum has burst onto the scene this season and flashed his potential as a future superstar. Jaylen Brown, 21 and in his sophomore season, has made leaps and bounds from the beginning of his rookie campaign and has recently shown he can carry this Irving and Hayward-less Celtics team in the playoffs.
For me, it comes down to two things with Brown and Tatum: age and affordability. The Celtics have these two guys under contract through 2020 and 2021, respectively. Next year, Kawhi is slated to make around $20 million, which is more than the two rookie contract salaries of Brown and Tatum combined. Kawhi is going to be expensive and might not be as willing to work with the team contractually as guys who were drafted by the team. Sure, Kawhi is a proven commodity, but Brown and Tatum are still young and have the potential to legitimately reach Kawhi’s level, and at a lesser cost to the Celtics.
The Celtics already have a young team that’s built for the future, but can also win now. Currently up 2-0 on the Milwaukee Bucks, Brown and Tatum have showcased their talents and leadership on the big stage. With a healthy roster, the Celtics are already contenders, and substituting in an expensive and apparently injury-prone Kawhi Leonard for one of Boston’s young stars would be to unravel the ball of yarn that Danny Ainge has worked so hard to spin.
Green-teamers, the NBA Playoffs are in full swing and the C’s are rolling, so I have a proposition for all of you: See what these young guys can do against the Bucks and on and what a healthy squad can do next year, then reevaluate; I guarantee you won’t be begging for Kawhi Leonard in 2020.
(Contract information via Spotrac)
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