With the Celtics in the thick of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, the entire NBA community is picturing what a Celtics team with Kevin Durant might look like. More importantly, we’re imagining what kind of deal the Celtics would send back in exchange for his services.
If you ask most, they’ll tell you that anyone but Jayson Tatum is available in talks. If you ask Skip Bayless, even trading away Tatum would be worth it if it means having Kevin Durant on your team.
Here’s what he said on the subject during Monday’s edition of Undisputed:
“If I’m Brooklyn, I don’t do this deal. But of the deals I know of, it’s easily the best deal on the table,” Bayless said. “And if I’m Boston, I would do whatever they ask. Ask me anything, I’ll throw it in. I don’t care. I’m not going to give you both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but I will give you one or the other — whoever you want, I would give him. If you want Jayson Tatum to finish this off, you can have him. Because if you give me Jaylen Brown with Kevin Durant, I’m good.”
Despite some doubts about Boston’s pursuit of Durant, their interest in the 2x Finals MVP is serious. As one of the best players in basketball, he could be the missing piece that pushes them over the top — at least, that’s what the Celtics seem to think.
As of right now, the Celtics have emerged as a serious possibility as a landing spot for Durant (wrote Shams Charania). They have tremendous interest in bringing him in and view him as a piece that could take them over that final hurdle. Although there is work to be done, there is a deal to be had that would suffice the Nets’ overwhelming ask.
As a young superstar in the making, Tatum isn’t a player you move on from without major consideration. While he’s not nearly as accomplished as Durant, he gives the Celtics a much longer window to compete than KD, who turns 34 in September.
But if you’re Boston, capturing even one championship might be worth mortgaging the future. hat’s for the guys in the front office have to figure out before it’s too late and they lose that option altogether.
