Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Celtics

The biggest thing the Boston Celtics need is depth at any and every position. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can only carry this team so far and they cannot play all 48-minutes on the court. 

Entering the 2020-21 NBA season, the Boston Celtics best bench option is probably rookie forward Aaron Nesmith. Their best bench player is an unproven rookie! When you look at the other championship contenders around the league, they have a solidified bench with plenty of veteran talent. This is something the Boston Celtics are lacking heavily and is one of the main reasons why they have failed to make the NBA Finals over the years. 

If the Celtics do not go out and make a big move, especially with Kemba Walker being out indefinitely to begin the season, then they will end up being the same team once again. This team needs more offensive help and depth, which is why acquiring Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier could go a long way. 

With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown being primary ball-handlers anyways, the Celtics do not necessarily need a pure point guard like Kemba Walker and could get away with moving Marcus Smart to the starting point guard position with Jeff Teague coming off the bench to back him up. Then, Jaylen Brown could move to shooting guard, Tatum to small forward and then Aaron Gordon can be the team’s starting power-forward. 

With Gordon in the starting rotation, Fournier could then be a 15+ points per game wing coming off the bench and all of a sudden, this roster looks completely better and has a lot more depth and rotation options. 

It makes a lot more sense to trade Kemba Walker than it does to keep him, especially since this team has no money to spend in free agency the next few seasons and virtually no reliable bench options. Gordon and Fournier are both on expiring contracts and the worst thing that happens is the Celtics do not win the championship and they have over $30M to spend in free agency next offseason.