Why the Boston Celtics would hate this trade

This move would worsen the Boston Celtics’ defense while shredding apart their young core in return for one of the most elite offensive talents in NBA history, albeit one that’s approaching the end of his prime.

For all of Lillard’s offensive gifts, his arrival in Boston would certainly take a toll on their impressive team defense, and his ball-dominant style might detract from Tatum’s development.

There’s no doubt that a superstar pairing of Lillard and Tatum, surrounded by Boston’s remaining quality role players, would still make for a contender, but this trade would drastically shorten the Celtics’ window.

Maybe if Boston’s 2021-22 season ended the way it started — with Tatum and Brown struggling to find cohesion and the Celtics looking more the part of a Play-In team than a true contender — this drastic of a move would make sense.

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But with Tatum and Brown leading one of the NBA’s best defenses and the East’s dark-horse favorite, most Cs fans would prefer the team sit tight or make upgrades along the margins.