Could the Celtics swing a trade for one of Golden State’s stars? Brian Scalabrine is hearing it’s a possibility.
Speaking on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Scalabrine told Frank Isola that he had learned that a trade between the C's and Warriors that would land Klay Thompson in Boston could be on the table.
Scalabrine opened the conversation by saying he had heard Thompson might be available and that the specific rumor he heard involved the Celtics. In the scenario, Scalabrine said, the Celtics would send out Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and the right for Golden State to swap first-round picks with Boston’s pick from Brooklyn. In return, they would land Thompson, with the Warriors then using the Brooklyn pick to acquire a shot-blocking center. He added on a Facebook Live segment with CSNNE's Abby Chin that Philadelphia's Nerlens Noel would be a player whom the Warriors would target with the pick.
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Though both Scalabrine and Isola agreed that such a trade would benefit both sides, they did see why the idea of trading a player of Thompson’s caliber might be controversial.
“Maybe they’re on what I’m on, and [they feel] it’s impossible to win championships without rim protection against LeBron and Kyrie [Irving],” Scalabrine said. “So who’s your most valuable asset or most unneeded asset at this point?”
Boston Celtics
Scalabrine added that if the Warriors were to alter their roster based on matching up against the Cavaliers, Bradley would be better-suited to defend Irving than Thompson would be. That said, the Celtics would still be acquiring the best player in the deal.
The 26-year-old Thompson would be a major get for the C’s, as the 2011 11th overall pick is a two-time NBA All-Star. His 18.8 points per game would rank second on the Celtics behind Isaiah Thomas’ 25.8 points per game.