Boston Celtics
Victor Oladipo is the one guy the Boston Celtics should be zeroed in on right now, even though he just got traded to Houston. Pairing Oladipo up with Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum makes the Boston Celtics just as good in terms of offensive firepower as the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference.
For four consecutive years now, the Celtics have had a championship caliber team, but have come up short of making it to the NBA Finals, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four years.
Over the years, the Celtics have played around with their roster, always keeping Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart at the center of everything they do, but it may be time to part ways with Smart. While he has been a terrific two-way player for them and one of the better perimeter defenders in the league, he is not close to being as talented as Oladipo on the offensive end of the court.
The versatility Oladipo brings as a guard who can play on or off-the-ball could be extremely useful to the Celtics as well as they already play a brand of “positionless” basketball. With a starting five of Walker, Oladipo, Brown, Tatum and Thompson, the Boston Celtics would have their best chance in years to finally make it to the NBA Finals and should be one of the best offensive teams in the league.
On a side note, the Rockets may very look to trade Oladipo because of the fact that they want to have as many high draft picks as possible. Their 2021 first-round pick is currently in the possession of the Oklahoma City Thunder, but if that pick ends up being anywhere from 1-4, then Houston retains this pick and would have a Top-4 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
This is definitely something that is in the back of their minds and knowing this, Houston could end up getting guys like Marcus Smart, Romeo Langford and Grant Williams. All three of these guys could be utilized by Houston for years to come given that they are all under contract past this year and all young assets.
If Boston truly wants to maximize their chances to win a title this season, getting Victor Oladipo is a must and they should be willing to give up anyone other than Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to make him a member of the Celtics.
