Ideal Trade Partners for the Boston Celtics During the 2015 NBA Offseason

Flush with tradable young pieces and an embarrassment of draft picks, the Boston Celtics are one of the most attractive players on the trade market this offseason.

The problem now becomes finding the right team to make a deal with, as many front offices will approach Danny Ainge hoping to fleece the C’s of some of their assets.

Boston is in an enviable position, since it has some components of a good, young nucleus in place already, and the ability to pursue either a lottery talent by trading up or acquiring a more proven veteran. 

The ideal trade partner for the C’s would be a team stuck in the No. 8 or No. 9 seed malaise, with an imbalanced roster and no clear improvement plan. 

Those may sound like ultra-specific criteria, but there are actually a few teams in the league that perfectly fit that description.

The Charlotte Hornets, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings are all franchises that fit the bill that will surely be receiving a phone call or two from Ainge.

Let’s go squad by squad and break down what makes them such perfect trade partners for Boston.

Charlotte Hornets

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Charlotte wants to be better in 2015-16, but there may not be a clear path to improvement, and the squad could be better off taking a step back instead of forward. 

The Hornets were a serious disappointment this past season, finishing 33-49, despite coming off a playoff appearance and adding established talent in Lance Stephenson and Marvin Williams. 

Stephenson in particular was a flop, earning the distinction of “least valuable player” from the Washington Post’s Neil Greenberg.

Still, Stephenson has had some strong moments in the league with the Indiana Pacers, and he’s the kind of versatile offensive player who could fit well in Brad Stevens’ system.

Sure, he takes some bad shots and attempts to do too much off the dribble, but Stephenson is a plus defender, a heady passer and would be an interesting fit in Boston’s starting lineup alongside Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley. 

As you’ll see by Stephenson’s shot chart (below), he really struggled from beyond the arc, but could benefit from cleaner looks in a system predicated upon ball movement. 

Credit: Austin Clemmens

He is on a very affordable contract, earning just $9 million next season with a $9.4 million team option for the following year. 

Other pieces Boston could look into are Williams, a bona fide stretch 4 (35.8 percent from three-point range last season) with playoff experience; Jeff Taylor, a promising three-and-D wing; or Gerald Henderson, a tenacious defender and athlete languishing on the bench. 

The interesting thing with Charlotte is that it also has an attractive draft pick in the middle of the lottery.

The difference between the Celts’ No. 16 pick and Charlotte’s No. 9 is not insignificant and could be the difference in Boston landing a building block like Willie Cauley-Stein instead of a more fringe prospect.

Boston would likely have to give up some quality pieces like Jared Sullinger and Avery Bradley to move up that far, but it could be worth the price, depending on what Ainge’s priorities are. 

Many GMs are hesitant to trade within their conference, but don’t be surprised if you hear some Charlotte-Boston murmurings this summer.

Denver Nuggets

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Few teams went through as much turmoil as the Denver Nuggets last season, which included firing coach Brian Shaw midway through the season and dealing one of their best talents in Arron Afflalo for assets.

Those moves only served to create more unrest, and now there are rumors that Kenneth Faried and Ty Lawson are both underwhelmed by the organization and ready for a change of scenery, per Basketball Insiders’ Steve Kyler.

Lawson, a diminutive pass-first point guard, may not seem a natural fit with Isaiah Thomas already on the roster, but Grantland’s Zach Lowe still sees it as a very real possibility.

Adding Lawson would likely mean some sort of backcourt shakeup, but he is a terrific playmaker and a decent shooter who could potentially play well alongside the physical, defensive-minded Smart. 

Faried is a more logical fit with his terrific rebounding ability, although he isn’t much of a defender and doesn’t have the size to play the 5. 

Still, he could be a solid big-man addition if Boston lets Brandon Bass walk in free agency and doesn’t make bringing back Tyler Zeller a priority.

He and Sullinger would form a frontcourt tandem that gives up size but could absolutely inhale rebounds on the offensive and defensive ends.

Faried would also thrive in the up-and-down system that allowed him to make plays in the open court, as his highlights (below) indicate.

Like the Hornets, Denver also possesses an attractive lottery selection, and there will certainly be top-shelf talent available at No. 7.

The C’s would have to part with a decent haul—likely including one of the Brookyln Nets’ picks, to bring back Denver’s selection—but it would give them a good shot at landing a franchise player.

The Nuggets have players in their prime, such as Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, but also intriguing young talent in Jusuf Nurkic, Will Barton and Gary Harris who warrant a longer look.

Boston has the opportunity to capitalize on a particularly turbulent time for the Nuggets franchise and come away either with a proven piece like Faried or Lawson or potentially a much-better draft choice.

Sacramento Kings 

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Talked about as a potential Boston trade partner since Rajon Rondo still wore Celtic green, the Kings are going into yet another offseason with more questions than answers. 

Obviously, the biggest name in Sacramento is DeMarcus Cousins, who would make a perfect fit in Boston.

The Kings’ front office has made it clear they value Cousins, including Vlade Divac, who went so far as to declare the enigmatic center “untradeable” on SiriusXM NBA Radio.

Surely, if the Kings don’t feel confident that Cousins wants to be in Sacramento long term, they could be amenable to a trade. But there are also more deals to be made. 

The Kings are facing somewhat of a win-now mandate after years of missing the postseason and could be willing to part with some of their better young assets.

Beyond Cousins, Sacramento also has Ben McLemore, who has shown huge promise as a two-way athlete; Nik Stauskas, who could become a useful shooter; and Derrick Williams, who is due a big qualifying offer but might slot in well at the 3 for Boston. 

The Kings could use a more polished power forward to accent Cousins, and Sullinger actually would make a nice fit alongside him if he improves his three-pointer.

Sacramento has also been pretty ghastly in the defensive backcourt and might want to add a versatile perimeter defender like Bradley to their rotation.

The intriguing thing with the Kings is that they already have plenty of lottery talent on their roster, so even though the team owns the No. 6 pick, they might not want to develop another rookie. 

Boston obviously doesn’t have an elite player it can offer straight up for the Kings’ pick, but the combination of the Celtics' two first-rounders and some proven talent might be enough to pry it from Sacramento, particularly since Rudy Gay’s extension could lessen the Kings' interest for someone like Arizona’s Stanley Johnson or Duke’s Justice Winslow. 

Johnson in particular has been an early target of Boston, per MassLive’s Jay King. 

Look for Boston to try and take advantage of Vivek Ranadive’s "New Owner Syndrome" and fleece the King for some of their talent.