NBA Rumors: Celtics Could Acquire James Harden For Package Centered On Jaylen Brown
After once again falling short of the NBA championship last season, rumors have started to swirl around James Harden and his future with the Houston Rockets. The Rockets haven’t shown any indication that they are planning to move the former MVP but if they surprisingly make him available on the trading block, several teams would surely be lining up to get his service this offseason. One of the teams that are expected to express a strong interest in acquiring “The Beard” from the Rockets is the Boston Celtics.
With Danny Ainge currently serving as the team’s general manager and president of basketball operations, it would be no surprise if the Celtics really went after Harden this fall. However, to bring a player of his caliber to Boston, Ainge wlil have to prepare to pay a king’s ransom to the Rockets. According to Logan Mullen of NESN, the Celtics would likely need to offer a package centered on Jaylen Brown to convince the Rockets to engage in a blockbuster deal involving Harden.
“Acquiring Harden at the absolute least would require the Celtics sending Jaylen Brown to Houston as part of the package. We’re certain that trading Brown would be a non-starter for some in the fanbase. That, of course, is ludicrous. It’s one thing if the ask is too big overall, but Brown as the centerpiece would merely be the cost of doing business, and if it means getting Harden to Boston, then Danny Ainge should be warming up his car so he can drive his 2016 first-round pick to the airport.”
Trading Brown for Harden should be a no-brainer for the Celtics. Brown may have shown huge superstar potential since he was selected as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but it remains a big question mark if he will ever reach the Harden’s level. Though he’s not a defensive specialist like Brown, Harden would give the Celtics one of the best scorers that the league has ever seen.
The potential arrival of Harden in Boston would tremendously boost their offensive efficiency that currently ranks No. 5 in the league, scoring 110.4 points per 100 possessions, per ESPN. The Celtics would certainly need to make huge adjustments to accommodate “The Beard” on their roster. But if the former MVP manages to build good chemistry with Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, and Marcus Smart, Boston would undeniably become heavy favorites to dominate the Eastern Conference and bring home the Larry O’Brien Trophy next year.
