NBA Rumors: Celtics Could Acquire Myles Turner For Gordon Hayward, ‘Bleacher Report’ Suggests
With Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner seen by some observers as having taken a step back in the 2019-20 season, a new report proposed a trade idea that would allow him to fill a need for the Boston Celtics while also allowing the Pacers to get a quality player in return.
In a list of hypothetical trades focused on improving the prospects of some of the NBA’s higher-profile, yet struggling young players, Bleacher Report pointed out that Turner’s statistics have mostly declined in the current season, despite the fact he is getting slightly more playing time than he did in the prior campaign. This, as explained, could mean that he might be better off with another team, especially since his fellow young big man, Domantas Sabonis, played in his first All-Star game earlier this year, while the Pacers added depth to their center rotation in the 2019 draft by selecting Goga Bitadze in the first round.
As the Celtics are arguably weakest in the middle — with Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter, and Robert Williams all seeing playing time at center — the outlet recommended a deal that would send Turner and reserves Doug McDermott and T.J. McConnell to Boston in exchange for Gordon Hayward. As Turner is averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 33.6 percent from three-point range, per Basketball-Reference, his arrival could help the Celtics in multiple ways, mainly through his defensive skills and ability to score from long range.
? Watch @TonyWarrenJr's clutch triple and @Original_Turner's big time block through the lens of our slo-mo #PhantomCam! #NBAIndiaGames pic.twitter.com/hPKervyn3r
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Additionally, Bleacher Report noted that McDermott and McConnell could also contribute if traded to Boston. McDermott, a journeyman forward who is averaging 10.4 points and shooting 44.5 percent from beyond the arc, was described as a player who could allow starting power forward Jayson Tatum to see more action on the wing. McConnell, meanwhile, has posted averages of 6.5 points and five assists per game, which could give him a chance to provide depth at point guard behind Kemba Walker.
As for Hayward, the 29-year-old is in the middle of a comeback season of sorts, two years after suffering a season-ending injury in the first game of the 2017-18 campaign. A trade to the Pacers, per Bleacher Report, would give him a chance to play for his hometown team while starting alongside Sabonis, T.J. Warren, Victor Oladipo, and Malcolm Brogdon. Such a lineup, according to the outlet, has the potential to become one of the best in the Eastern Conference, one in which all five starters are “capable of dropping 25-30 points on any given night.”
