In recent years, the Boston Celtics have been the home for plenty of superstar point guards. Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, and Kemba Walker all made the All-Star Game in Boston. When one left, the C’s swiftly replaced them with a new, high-level facilitator to help run the offense.
After trading Walker away this offseason, they lost that. They may have added the productive and affordable Dennis Schroder, but he’s not at the same level as the other three were during their prime years in Boston. He’s done a great job of filling that void, but according to Forbes’ Sean Deveney, there’s still something missing at that position.
Deveney joined Adam Kaufman on the latest episode of the Celtics Beat podcast on CLNS Media. He believes that this Celtics team is missing that point guard who can initiate the offense at an elite level:
“They don’t have that point guard on the roster right now. I think that’s the real problem here… I think to have them [Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown] though, you’re going to have to have somebody who can initiate that drive into the paint. We just don’t have that on this team right now.”
Again, Schroder has done a fine job of filling in, but he’s not even the starter. Marcus Smart has played well too, but Deveney has a different idea. He brought up one name who the Celtics could potentially target on the trade market this season:
“De’Aaron Fox would be the ideal guy. And Sacramento, whether they blow it up remains to be seen. They probably should, and that includes De’Aaron Fox.”
The Sacramento Kings fired head coach Luke Walton earlier this season after an ugly start. They’ve been fighting to break out of the lottery for years not, but to no avail. Sacramento currently holds the longest playoff drought in the NBA, having not reached the postseason since 2006.
Fox got off to a slow start but has since picked up the pace. The 24-year-old is averaging 21.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists this season while shooting 45.5 percent from the field but just 26.3 percent from deep.
Fox signed a 5-year, $163 million extension last fall and while the price tag to acquire the young star would certainly be hefty, Deveney still thinks it’s the right move for Brad Stevens:
“The Celtics would have to basically mortgage the future. They’d have to basically give up three first-round draft picks and do the draft pick swap thing that we’re all familiar with because that’s what the Nets did in 2013. But I’d like that much more for a 24-year-old point guard who can grow with Tatum and Brown… He would be my ideal.”
Sacramento is 12-18 on the year and sits 10th in the Western Conference. However, Deveney still believes they should blow things up. If that were to happen, he expects Fox to be available for trade:
“That would be the logical thing – for them [Sacramento] to start looking to tear things down and rebuild. And if that happens I think De’Aaron Fox could be had. Whether the Celtics could put together the best package, probably not based on players, but if they are willing to include the full slate of picks then that would probably change.”
