4. Boston Celtics
Yes, this is a hail mary. And yes, this is the best ‘real-life’ move the Trail Blazers could possibly make at this point — especially with Robert Covington off the trade chip table. Gordon Hayward is the quintessential wing addition they’ve been looking for while also under team control past this season.
When fully healthy, there would not be a piece in this starting lineup that could go unaccounted for. Rip City would be more than ready to welcome Enes Kanter back with open arms. After how well he produced in Nurkic’s absence last year, he would be the perfect option to split minutes with and help ease the Bosnian Beast back into his starting role.
The Boston Celtics have made no secret of their pursuit to find a starting center worthy of a real contender. In fact, Boston is the only playoff-bound team without a quality center anchoring the rotation (if we ignore Houston, who has apparently made the decision to forego having any centers at all).
Ariza has proven he’s still got game, and honestly isn’t all that much worse than Hayward when he’s actually putting forth full effort and accepting his role as a complementary piece. Hayward is not and will not ever be a true four, so picking up Whiteside to defend the paint will be crucial for this Celtics team.
Of all the trial runs I ran, this team composition was by far the most successful. This team also finished 43-39, and capped off a 20-11 stretch post-trade by winning eight consecutive games to conclude the season. They carried this momentum into the playoffs by stealing Game One from the Lakers in what would be a hard-fought seven-game series. Ultimately, Portland would emerge victorious.
Although the Trail Blazers would fall in five games to the fourth-seeded Clippers, there’s no denying that this was a very successful and encouraging run. They could enter the offseason with their heads held high and the same core returning healthy and rejuvenated next year. The Clippers would advance to the NBA Finals to face… the Celtics, believe it or not. Boston would win in six games in what proved to be a win-win situation for everyone involved.
These results took place in an imaginary world, where the events unfolded in an equally storybook fashion. At the same time, this story of ours isn’t too far-fetched. In fact, it could still happen. All eyes now point towards Thursday’s trade deadline, where we may finally reveal which path we are destined to travel down.