The Boston Celtics overachieved this season and threw a monkey wrench into championship plans for the Cleveland Cavaliers after Kelly Olynyk dislocated Kevin Love‘s shoulder in Boston’s last game of the playoffs. But it is time for the Celtics to have their eye on the future, and two different possibilities to upgrade their roster exist this summer. First, oddly enough, Love could still opt out of his player option and negotiate a long-term deal with the Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers or Houston Rockets. Each team makes sense for the PF due to different reasons, but my money is on him opting into the contract and seeing how things go next season.
So if Love does decide to stay with LeBron James for one more run, then who could the Celtics potentially target this summer? Wouldn’t DeMarcus Cousins be a great fit under mastermind head coach Brad Stevens? I believe that is a yes, and the only question is if the Celtics have enough trade assets to get a deal that big done. They would probably have to offer up a promising player like Marcus Smart to even get the conversation going, but it remains a possibility for the Celtics as long as Danny Ainge is making roster decisions. He always swings for the fences. The All-Stars in the Western Conference must have noticed the lack of quality in the Eastern Conference, and the 24-year-old center showed off a range of skills this season as he averaged over 24 points, nearly 13 rebounds and almost two blocks per game. Think about what the big man could do in a weaker division.
One guy who wouldn’t complain about the Celtics adding Cousins is the Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan.
“I will personally pick him up at the airport,” Ryan said to CSNNE.com. “I do not think he’s evil. I think he’s growing up better and he is enormously talented, enormously so. That is a cornerstone player and he’s still very young. The year he was in the draft there were people who thought he should’ve been the No. 1 pick just on the talent. He’s proving to be a premier big man. Yes, I would roll the dice on DeMarcus Cousins.”
The Celtics haven’t landed a big fish like this since the Kevin Garnett deal, and that trade was for an aging superstar as opposed to one who’s in his prime. Cousins would make Boston a playoff lock for the next five years, but would his addition be enough to topple the Cavs next season? The only way we will find out is if Ainge has the assets and conviction to get this trade done.
Dave Daniels is an NBA Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.