The Boston Celtics were the most heavily favored Eastern Conference team to go to the NBA Finals. But against the No. 8 seed Miami Heat, they were unable to pull off the upset.
Despite Jayson Tatum’s best efforts, his team lost. Some people think it’s time to split up Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart since neither has played up to expectations.
Obviously, it would only occur if they were able to acquire a player with All-Star potential. Even though there may not be many of them, we’ll examine three viable targets they might go for.
3. Karl-Anthony Towns
Karl-Anthony Towns was out for a significant chunk of the season. The Minnesota Timberwolves undertook a risky experiment by putting him on the court alongside Rudy Gobert.
They haven’t been successful so far, and it doesn’t seem like they ever will. Due to their size disadvantage, the Celtics might benefit greatly from adding a shooter.
2. Damian Lillard
Many experts believe the Portland Trail Blazers will completely overhaul the team and trade All-Star point guard Damian Lillard or the No. 3 overall selection in order to build around Lillard. A third possibility is moving on from Lillard and starting over.
Keeping Jaylen Brown as their franchise player while trading away their aging star is a viable option for the Blazers.
1. Zach LaVine
The Chicago Bulls apparently worry that Lonzo Ball may never play professionally again. Marcus Smart is the ideal point guard and tough defender they’ve been looking for. They would have to use some fillers and draft choices, but they could accomplish it.
With Zach LaVine’s rocky relationship with Billy Donovan and the team’s lackluster core, the Bulls may be better off starting over. LaVine has been in a virtual dead heat with other groups throughout the course of the previous two seasons.