NBA Rumors: Celtics, Suns Could Explore Jayson Tatum For Devin Booker Trade Next Summer, Per ‘Bleacher Report’
Devin Booker had another impressive performance in the 2018-19 NBA season, proving that he deserves the massive contract extension he signed with the Phoenix Suns last July. In the 64 games the he played, the 22-year-old shooting guard averaged 26.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 4.1 rebounds on 46.7 percent shooting from the field, and 32.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, despite the incredible numbers he posted almost every game, the Suns still failed to end their playoff drought this season.
To make things worse, Devin Booker and the Suns finished the 2018-19 NBA season with the second-worst record in the league. Recently, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report created a list of NBA superstars who needed to be rescued from their respective teams. In the case of Booker, Hughes believes that the Suns’ superstar will be better off being traded to the Boston Celtics
If Kyrie Irving leaves Boston in the 2019 NBA free agency, Hughes suggested that the Celtics should consider trading Jayson Tatum and the Los Angeles Clippers’ 2019 first-round pick to the Suns in exchange for Devin Booker.
“In this scenario, Booker joins the Celtics in advance of Kyrie Irving’s departure for the New York Knicks, forming a new starting five of Marcus Smart, Booker, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford (who’d have to pick up his $30.1 million player option to stick around). That’s an intriguing first unit. Boston would be selling low on Tatum, but shot creation would be a high priority if we’re assuming Irving is gone. And as much promise as Tatum has shown, Booker has already delivered huge numbers with better efficiency. Plus, the guard is only a year older than the forward.”
Devin Booker drops 50 in back to back games.
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) March 28, 2019
Devin Booker would be an intriguing addition for the Celtics, giving them a potential new face of the franchise who is under contract until the 2023-24 NBA season. Losing Kyrie Irving would undeniably hurt the Celtics, but with Booker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford on their roster, they would remain as one of the top teams to come out of the Eastern Conference.
With the possible departure of Irving, the Celtics would have the salary cap space to re-sign Terry Rozier in the 2019 NBA free agency. Rozier is already a proven starter and at 25, he fits well with the timeline of Devin Booker. Rozier is expected to receive plenty of interest in the summer of 2019, but as a restricted free agent, the Celtics only need to match offers from other NBA teams just to bring him back to their roster.
