Is This The Off-season Danny Ainge Finally Trades For Rudy Gobert?

We all knew that the second the clock hit 0.0 and the Celtics season ended that it was only a matter of time before the Twitter rumors started flying. It happens every season so why would you expect anything else. Of course there were going to be "reports" and "sources" talking about the Celts being interested in making a certain trade for a big man. It's all the names we heard about at the trade deadline

Now do I have any idea how credible this account is? Lord no. Everyone on Twitter has "sources" once the offseason rolls around. For all we know this dude read a Bleacher Report article about this or something. What is the NUMBER ONE thing you have to remember when it comes to Danny Ainge trades? If you hear about it in the media or on Twitter, it's most likely not happening. His trades move in silence. Did anyone see the Isaiah trade coming from PHX? Or the Avery trade? Or the Kyrie trade? We didn't hear a peep about any of those. So right off the bat I'm extremely skeptical that suddenly there's a leak about what Ainge wants to do in the trade market. 

So let's talk about Rudy Gobert. For starters, you're trading major pieces to be able to pull this move off in the first place. The dude makes $25M. Unless there is a third team involved which we don't know about, your options for contracts on the Celts roster is pretty thin. It's basically Kemba, Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown. You then also have to consider the fact that Gobert is an UFA next season, and he wants a max deal. Unless Hayward tells Ainge he wants to go back to UTA, the Jazz wouldn't be interested in Kemba and I'd rather have a 24 year old Jaylen Brown who is already locked up long term. So right off the bat the finances make this pretty tricky.

In terms of fit, there's no denying Gobert would be an upgrade talent wise over what's on the roster when it comes to defense, rebounding and shot blocking. But you have to remember this is a guy who routinely gets played off the floor in the playoffs. I don't want this to come off as me thinking Gobert sucks, I know he doesn't, but if you combine what it would take to get him away from Utah, I'm not sure you're closer to making the Finals if you make a move like this. Plus, have you even seen Tacko lately?!?!?!

Who knows, maybe there is a massive three team trade in the works, but I still believe the best course of action is to add to this team around the edges. It's not like they were mile and miles away from making a Finals. If they don't turn the ball over a billion times they don't blow the ECF. It wasn't a 2019 series vs the Bucks situation where they got played off the floor. They were right there. So, find some low risk bigs that aren't expensive to help round out your rotation. Play Rob Williams real fucking minutes so you can see what you actually have. Pretty sure he can set screens and catch lobs. Add shooting/young big guy in the draft. 

You don't need to trade a major piece for Rudy Gobert and then be on the hook for another massive long term deal. Plus, who says the Jazz even want to move him? Especially when the West is loaded with size and the Jazz are hoping to contend. 

So go ahead, cross Gobert off your bingo card and get ready for the next rumor to come out. It's only a matter of time before we hear about Steven Adams or someone along those lines. Some things never change.