Whenever an NBA team like the Boston Celtics makes a trade, it is banking on whatever coming back being more of the thing a ball club needs than what they are sending out — even if — in some cases — a team is trying to accumulate draft capital or young talent in a rebuild. The same can be said for players who aren’t re-signed in favor of using a roster spot elsewhere.
So there may be times a team gets worse by design, but that doesn’t stop fans and analysts from dunking on a franchise if a player they dealt away starts playing well later. To be fair, sometimes it’s annoyingly deserved (cough cough Desmond Bane cough), but it can also be a fun exercise to look back on what might have been.
To that end, the staff of HoopsHype put together a league-wide exercise of the best five players a team has recently moved on from contrasted with the best players they have now — let’s see how they rated out the Celtics.
The ex-Celtics
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Terry Rozier (Charlotte Hornets)
(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets)
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Jae Crowder (Phoenix Suns)
Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Marcus Morris, Sr. (Los Angeles Clippers)
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Kelly Olynyk (Utah Jazz)
The current Celtics
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Marcus Smart
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Jaylen Brown
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jayson Tatum
(Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
Al Horford
(Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Robert Williams III
The argument
“All of the Boston Celtics’ exes have had some level of success since after leaving Boston, but Boston’s front office and fans love what they have going on right now,” suggests HoopsHype.
“With the Celtics boasting statistically the best team in the NBA behind the elite tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the advantage here goes to current Boston, which has a starting five that also features Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Robert Williams.”
“Plus, no one in Boston can be missing the Kyrie Irving experience,” the panel is sure to note.
The conclusion
Brian Fluharty/Getty Images
“The current Celtics are loaded,” writes H/H.
And while Boston’s recent woes may hint that some sort of changes might yet be needed, it’s hard to look at how the team started the season and not side with this iteration of the team.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire