Plan D: Young trade options for the Celtics amid an offseason of retooling

While dreams of Anthony Davis have moved into the rearview mirror, the Celtics find themselves at a bit of a crossroads as a franchise, far quicker than anyone anticipated. They have maintained a collection of appealing player assets and draft picks to use this summer but there is no clear cut candidate to use them on as the NBA Draft approaches.

To further complicate matters, the C's also look poised to head into next year with their lone All-Star in Kyrie Irving walking away in free agency. While the majority of the Celtics fanbase is not disappointed by this development for understandable reasons, it is still a crippling blow from a team building perspective to lose a max player without any way to replace his salary (since the team is over the cap). Al Horford is headed out the door as well, leaving the Celtics with nothing to show for their best two pieces

While the Celtics still remain in a better spot than most franchises given their collection of young elite talent, the shelf life on the high value of their young assets may be limited. Jaylen Brown only has one more year on his rookie deal before commanding a new contract that could deflate his value. Jayson Tatum has two years remaining on his rookie deal before his payday comes. The team also has three first-round picks in the 2019 NBA Draft this week that will lose value immediately upon being used. In essence, Thursday is a bit of a defacto deadline for the team to make a splashy move this offseason and improve the young core or accumulate more assets for the long-term.

The question now that the Celtics are aggressively trying to answer ahead of Thursday is whether there are any young players potentially available on the trade market for a combination of pick assets that is worthwhile for Boston. What names are sure to surface in the C's draft room ahead of Thursday night? Let's run down all of the possibilities (ignoring superstars on top tier teams that won't be available) to see where there may be an avenue worth pursuing for the franchise to start building forward with.

Not Available for what the Celtics are willing to offer 

Karl Anthony-Towns: The 23-year-old signed a five-year extension with the Wolves last offseason. Despite the team’s struggles, there is essentially no chance he gets made available now according to sources even if the Celtics make a kitchen sink offer (Tatum, Brown, picks). Towns is a true No. 1 under contract through 2023 and Minnesota isn’t exactly a hotbed for free agents. They have no reason to move their top star unless they are getting a surefire All-Star in return, something the Celtics can’t offer. The best chance of him leaving is him asking out like Davis did but that’s not going to happen for at least a couple of years. His situation will be worth monitoring as the years go by.

Devin Booker: Like Towns, he signed a five-year extension with the Suns last year. He doesn’t have the same upside as Towns and has never played for a respectable team yet in his four NBA seasons, but that’s a result of Suns' dysfunction more than anything else. Phoenix may listen to a monster offer but acquiring him doesn’t put the C’s any closer to a franchise player since it’s unclear if he is more of one than Tatum has the potential to be.

Damian Lillard/CJ McCollum: Last offseason, the Celtics may have had a chance at one of these guys after the Blazers were swept out of the first round. Now? Portland won’t be looking to shake things up after a shorthanded run to the Western Conference Finals. These two aren’t off limits entirely but aren’t going to be available for less than a haul and their ages don't line up well with the C's retooling plan anyway.

Who is in charge?

Bradley Beal: This is the name that has been thrown around the most in recent weeks and for good reason. His age (26) and production at shooting guard make him a great fit for any offense. He’s got two years remaining on his deal at a great price, eliminating the potential flight risk right away. The Wizards have no real hope of being a solid playoff team with bad contracts saddled throughout the payroll and John Wall sidelined for the next season. The problem? The Wizards don’t have a general manager at the helm right now and their owner Ted Leonsis has insisted publicly that Beal is not available. The Celtics have enough assets to get the Wizards to listen to potential offers anyway, but there is a certain price point the Celtics would need to stick to here for it to be worth their while. The allure of teaming up a couple St. Louis natives and friends in Beal and Tatum has to be appealing to some degree though given the chemistry issues in the locker room last year.

Second Tier Older Stars:

LaMarcus Aldridge: Coach Pop has no real intention to rebuild in San Antonio, so the C’s collection of draft picks shouldn’t pique his interest. Dealing for a 33-year-old Aldridge shouldn’t do anything for Boston’s title chances on its own. If the Celtics wanted a veteran big, they would have just kept Horford.

Mike Conley: We’ve covered this possibility already in depth here at BSJ, but the Celtics would be able to absorb his salary without complete matching now if they renounce their other free agents. Conley's age (31) still makes this kind of deal unlikely though.

Jrue Holiday: If the Celtics have interest in putting together one of the best defensive backcourts in the NBA, Holiday would be a good place to start. The Pelicans are interested in retooling on a younger timeline now around Zion Williamson and Holiday (age: 29) probably will be past his prime when Williamson matures. He is under contract for the next three seasons though and should be a great leader in the backcourt until then. The Pelicans won’t have a strong incentive to move him unless they fetch a heavy price. Would a deal centered around first round picks push the needle? He's probably too old to be worth building with but the team control (next three seasons) makes him somewhat appealing if the C's want to stay competitive in the East with their young core and Hayward.

The Overpaid Aging Stars

DeMar DeRozan: The Raptors dumped him for a reason and the Spurs will probably be exploring the same thing this summer. He wouldn’t cost much of anything but it’s not worth bringing him aboard if you want Tatum and Brown to develop.

Kevin Love: The Cavs locked him up to a long-term deal last offseason in hopes of locking in some value and security. However, an injury-marred year in 2018-19 makes that contract look questionable now. He’s not worth giving up a young prospect like Tatum or Brown due to his age, injury questions and defensive deficiencies. His contract could get ugly in a couple of years as well. If the Cavs are merely looking to dump his salary, the C's could be a landing spot if they get a pick or two for the trouble. However, it's fair to guess the Cavs will wait to get some value before they move him.

Blake Griffin: The Pistons mortgaged a good amount of their future for him last year to acquire the star power forward and he responded with one of his best all-around seasons to date. He’s earning $34 million next season and is under contract through 2022, making him a very tough piece to bring in from a salary standpoint. Griffin doesn’t immediately turn the Celtics into a contender anytime soon so it’s hard to justify that kind of move as a step forward for Boston given the cost and age.

Young talent with question marks

Aaron Gordon: His age (23) lines up far better with Tatum than a lot of players on this list, but it’s still unclear just how good the athletic power forward is. He’s a strong rebounder and defender but his offensive game remains a bit of a mystery. The Celtics may be better off just sticking with Brown and paying him a similar contract to Gordon next summer rather than giving up assets for Gordon. He’s under team control through 2022 on a reasonable deal so he won’t come cheap from Orlando. They will likely command one of Brown/Smart or a collection of first round picks. Unless the Celtics are very high on his potential, that feels like a step sideways.

Andre Drummond: After watching his defensive performance against the Bucks in the first round this April, this is not the guy that no team should be eager to bring in. He has two years left on his mammoth contract and the Pistons could be in cost cutting mode on their payroll. He doesn't fit the C's scheme though so it's hard to imagine the team bringing him in unless they get something for absorbing that salary

So what’s the best backup plan?

There’s no clear cut player to get the Celtics to the next level on this list, which is the frustrating part for the front office. The safe play now is to wait another year or so until the next younger elite star becomes available but there is no guarantee the C’s assets will maintain the value necessary to acquire said piece without a highly successful draft night (i.e. developing promising rookies or turning current picks into valuable future picks).

If the Celtics want to stay a respectable playoff team this summer (a questionable motive), the two pieces to watch on this list in my eyes are Beal and Holiday. From an age and fit perspective, both guards would slot in well with the Celtics roster and shouldn’t decimate the C’s assets in the process. It’s always going to come down the price point for each of them since both of their current franchises are in no rush to move either for less than the full sticker price. A Smart/Holiday backcourt has the potential to give opposing offenses nightmares, while Beal is a clear cut No. 1 scoring option that could be used to bulk up the offense in Irving’s absence. He's also good buddies with Tatum, which could help the team build a core for the future.

Waiting on a frustrated Beal to ask out later this season might help soften some of the cost of an asking price (no guarantee), while some of the C’s assets (Brown, Smart, rookie picks) could gain value. At the very least, there will be plenty of opportunity for those guys on this roster.

The main question the front office should be asking in the wake of Horford and Irving's departure is whether they want to be paying Brown around $20 million next year or one of these guys $25-30 million for the next few years. If the answer is the latter, it’s probably worth giving up a pick along with Brown to get a deal done. Ainge shouldn’t mortgage the future for any of these names but there is a realistic chance he can keep Tatum while acquiring one of them. There is a real risk that opportunity fades if the Celtics wait too much longer to act. In that situation, the team would be fully dependent development of Brown and Tatum, unless they leverage their current picks into more appealing ones or players on Thursday.

Either way, the 2019 NBA Draft should tell us plenty about the team's intentions for the year ahead.