The hardest part of playing the trade game at the deadline is that we have so little actual information. There are a million leaked reports, but many of those are driven by agenda or worse, and every year there are moves that come out of the blue. Beyond that, we simply don't know the motivations and internal deliberations of the teams. A general consensus often forms around specific teams and players, but that's just fuel for conversation; it doesn't necessarily have any connection to what a specific team really thinks.
While that makes it hard to predict what will actually happen, it does free us as fans (and bloggers and sometimes media people of every stripe) to have fun and wildly speculate. There's no punishment for being wrong, after all. With that in mind...
I think the Boston Celtics should be negotiating with the Orlando Magic to trade for Aaron Gordon.
This assertion assumes a few things that, again, I cannot say with any certainty are true. They are:
- The Celtics are positioning to make a trade offer for Anthony Davis, most likely in 2019, and getting him is the most direct path to upper-echelon title contention;
- The Celtics are not going to be a tax team this season, but that their budget in future seasons in roughly $10 million above the tax line;
- The Celtics believe that the trend towards smaller, higher-skilled teams will continue for the foreseeable future;
- The Celtics are at best unsure of their ability to re-sign Marcus Smart, having failed to agree on an extension and now possibly having new off-court concerns with him;
- The Magic are engaged in a long-term rebuild under new management;
- The Magic view both Gordon and Jonathan Isaac as a power forward or possibly center;
- The Magic are likely to have a top-5 pick in the coming draft, and have a number of center/power forwards near the top of their rankings.
