Celtics' Top Trade Targets in 2022 Offseason

It's possible the biggest decision the Boston Celtics make this summer is the planning of their NBA championship parade.

That could be considered (and is) presumptuous for now, but they have been the Association's top team for four months now, and they are acing almost every postseason test placed in front of them.

Then again, the championship road is always treacherous, so who knows where the Celtics are headed from here. It may be just as likely (if not more so) that they head into the offseason on the heels of a second-round exit, which could have the front office plotting something bigger than anyone could imagine.

Should Boston wind up aggressively attacking the trade market this summer, the following three players could land in the crosshairs.

Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

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Look, there might be a million different reasons not to put Bradley Beal on this list, not the least of which is the fact that he is a free agent—or will be once he declines his player option—so this would likely involve a sign-and-trade, not a straight-up swap.

Yet until he puts pen to paper on a long-term contract with the Washington Wizards, it may be impossible not to draw a line between Beal and Boston.

"The three-time All-Star's friendship with fellow St. Louis native Jayson Tatum is well-documented, so as long as Tatum is a Celtic, the Beal-to-Boston speculation will remain alive," NBC Sports Boston's Darren Hartwell wrote in January.

The Celtics would need to jump threw a few financial hoops to make this happen, but a player of Beal's caliber might be worth the effort. This was a down season for the scoring guard, but he still pumped in 23.2 points per night while dishing a career-high 6.6 assists.

Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers

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Despite what Game 2's three-point barrage might lead you to believe, the Celtics could stand to add more shooting.

Buddy Hield makes the shortlist of the league's top marksmen. He also could work his way to the trade market sooner rather than later, as the future-focused Pacers may not be keen on paying a 29-year-old nearly $40 million over the next two seasons.

If Hield hits the open market, and if the Celtics could find a way to add his contract—by far the bigger if of the two—he would be a no-brainer for Boston.

For his career, he's a per-game supplier of 3.0 threes in just 29.2 minutes of action. He has also splashed those long-range looks at a 39.8-percent clip. Having him to pull away attention from Tatum and Jaylen Brown would make the Celtics offense even harder for opponents to handle.

Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat

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How badly does Boston want shooting? Bad enough to target a 28-year-old who flopped pretty hard in the first season of a five-year, $90 million deal?

That depends.

Maybe Boston wouldn't be worried about the fact that Duncan Robinson has fallen out of the Miami Heat's playoff rotation. It's possible that the team's roster construction is working against him, as a move to the second unit put him on the floor with another leaky wing defender in Tyler Herro, and the Heat seemingly decided they can't play both. The Celtics have enough stoppers to mean that may never be an issue.

In fact, it's possible Boston would see Robinson's demotion as the ultimate buy-low option. Miami can't possibly put a high price on any Robinson deal, so if the Celtics could get him for cheap—in terms of trade assets; that salary certainly doesn't qualify—they could find a bargain fire-baller. Since the start of 2019-20, the 6'7", New England native has averaged 3.4 triples on 40.8 percent shooting.