The Boston Celtics just gave Jordan Walsh a three-year, $15.0 million extension after he put up 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 17.8 minutes, and honestly, that is a perfectly fine move because he is only 22 years old, he can defend multiple positions and he still has room to become a consistent rotation player, but Boston can’t seriously treat that as the final piece after everything that happened this summer.
Brad Stevens traded Jaylen Brown to the 76ers for Paul George and four draft assets, then watched LeBron James sign a two-year, $8.0 million contract to join Brown, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia. Brown just had a career-best 28.7 points, while George played only 37 games and finished with 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, so even with the picks involved, Boston clearly took a massive risk by sending a star still in his prime to the same team that eliminated them from the playoffs.
The Celtics finished 56-26 and second in the East, but they blew a 3-1 lead against the 76ers in the first round, and now that same rival looks even stronger with LeBron. Jayson Tatum is back, Derrick White remains one of the best two-way guards in the NBA, and George can still be very good when healthy, but counting on a 36-year-old wing with a recent injury history to step in Brown’s shoes is way too risky.
That is why Boston should use part of the draft return from the Brown trade to add RJ Barrett, a 26-year-old scorer who could provide rim pressure, size, and another 20-point option without forcing the Celtics to move Tatum, White, or either of their main centers.
The Trade
Boston Celtics Receive: RJ Barrett
Toronto Raptors Receive: Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, 2028 first-round pick (swap rights via 76ers/Clippers), 2030 second-round pick
Barrett has already drawn interest in multi-team conversations while entering the final year of his contract at $29.6 million, so Boston would send around $24.3 million through Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Baylor Scheierman, giving the Celtics enough outgoing salary to build a legal deal while staying below the $221.7 million second apron. The Celtics would also include the 2028 swap rights received through the Brown trade and a 2030 second-round pick, giving the Raptors extra draft value without Boston immediately giving up the unprotected 2031 first-round pick from Philadelphia.
This would hurt Boston’s depth, no question about it, because Pritchard averaged 17.0 points and shot 37.7% from three, while Hauser added 9.2 points and made 39.3% from deep. But Hugo Gonzalez is one of the better young defenders on the roster, and Boston didn’t want to include him in the Giannis sweepstakes, so at least this framework gives the former Real Madrid teenager a pretty good runway to have extended protagonism in the team.
The Celtics would still keep Tatum, White, George, Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queta and Walsh, while replacing some smaller rotation pieces with one starting wing who can score around 20 points every night.
Why RJ Barrett Makes Sense For Boston
RJ Barrett stayed at 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists across 57 games last year, shooting 49.1% from the field, 33.9% from three, and 71.7% from the free-throw line, but his playoff performance showed why Boston should be interested in him.
Barrett raised his production to 24.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals across seven playoff games, while shooting 47.7% from the field and 38.6% from three. That is a strong sample from a player who didn’t hide once the games became more physical and every possession started to carry more pressure.
He isn’t an elite pull-up shooter, and he won’t suddenly become Boston’s main guard, but the Celtics don’t need him to control every possession because Tatum, White, and George can all create on their own. Barrett could focus on attacking closeouts, getting downhill, running in transition, and using his strength against smaller guards and wings, which is exactly the type of scoring Boston lost when Brown left.
George also can’t be guaranteed a 70-game second option anymore, because he played 37 and 41 games across his last two seasons, while his scoring dropped to 17.3 points in 2025-26. Barrett would give Joe Mazzulla a much better backup plan because he is only 26, has already averaged more than 20 points in multiple seasons, and can handle a bigger role whenever George misses games.
A starting lineup of White, Barrett, George, Tatum, and Robinson would have size everywhere, four players capable of attacking off the dribble, and enough defense to compete against the best wings in the East. Barrett isn’t Brown, and nobody should try to sell him like an equal replacement, but adding Barrett on top of George would make the overall result of the trade feel much less risky.
Why Toronto Could Say Yes
The Raptors finished 46-36 and fifth in the East before losing in seven to the Cavs, then made a massive win-now move by reacquiring Kawhi Leonard for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and a big haul of future draft assets.
Their projected starting lineup now includes Immanuel Quickley, Barrett, Leonard, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl, which has plenty of talent and size, but it doesn’t have enough high-volume shooting. Leonard, Barnes, Quickley, and Poeltl are also already carrying major salaries, while Barrett could command more than $30.0 million per season on his next contract if he builds on that playoff run.
Trading Barrett wouldn’t mean Toronto is giving up on competing, because Pritchard could immediately become a major part of the guard rotation after averaging 17.0 points, while Hauser would help a team that finished 29th in three-point shooting. Scheierman would have a great shooting profile, and the 2028 swap rights would return some of the draft flexibility Toronto lost in the Leonard trade.
The Raptors would basically turn one expiring player into two proven shooters, a young prospect, and more draft capital, while still building around Leonard and Barnes. Boston would be paying for the better player, but Toronto would gain depth and avoid another massive extension decision.
Brad Stevens Needs To Finish The Job
Re-signing Walsh was the correct move, but Boston’s summer won’t be judged by Walsh, Queta, or any small depth signing, because the entire offseason will be judged by the decision to trade Brown for George and picks.
Stevens sent a 29-year-old star to a direct rival, and that rival immediately added LeBron for almost no money, so the pressure is pretty obvious. If George gets hurt, slows down, or loses to Brown in another playoff series, the trade will look terrible no matter how many future picks Boston received.
Barrett wouldn’t completely remove that risk, but he would give the Celtics another scorer, a much younger wing, and real insurance behind George, while also showing that Boston didn’t trade Brown only to save money and wait several years for draft picks.
The Celtics would lose some shooting and bench depth, but contender rotations usually shrink to eight players once the playoffs begin anyway, and a core of White, Barrett, George, Tatum, Robinson, Queta, Gonzalez, and either Walsh or Mike Conley would still be deep enough to compete.
Boston already made the scary move by trading Brown. Now Stevens should use part of that return to finish the roster, because entering the season with George as the only major replacement would leave way too much depending on one 36-year-old staying healthy.
