How the Boston Celtics could unintentionally help push the Golden State Warriors closer to an NBA Championship.
It was anything but a Hollywood ending for the Boston Celtics this season. Losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals after Jayson Tatum suffered a brutal injury is not how the defending champs envisioned this season would end. Nevertheless, as the Celtics explore the possibility of big changes this offseason, there's one scenario in which Boston could unintentionally help push the Golden State Warriors one step closer to winning an NBA Championship.
If the Celtics were to move forward with the reported plans to make some cost-cutting moves this offseason, which were being rumored well before the team bowed out in the second round of the playoffs, the Warriors could be one of the beneficiaries of such a move. According to Logan Murdock of The Ringer, the possibility of trading for Derrick White, should he become available this offseason, is something that the Warriors may already be looking at.
White, who is coming off another All-Star-worthy season for the Celtics, could find himself as a natural trade candidate for Boston. If the Celtics find difficulty in moving on from a player like Jrue Holiday or Kristaps Porzingis, White could be the next natural contract on the chopping block.
The Warriors could take advantage of Boston's struggles
I don't envision that the Celtics are going to emerge as real sellers this offseason, but I do believe that they'd like to move one of their bigger contracts if they could. If I had to guess, I'd imagine Holiday is the player they're going to push to try and move, with the potential of Kristaps and/or White being another player they have honest conversations about.
I can't imagine the Celtics are going to trade Jaylen Brown, much less Tatum. If the Celtics do end up pursuing a cost-cutting move, there's naturally going to be a team or teams out there that will be looking to take advantage. The Warriors could be one of those teams. After falling short of a deep playoff run after the acquisition of Jimmy Butler, the hope for Golden State is that they'll be able to continue to add around Steph Curry, Jimmy, and Draymond Green.
That could be easier said than done, but under the expectation that the team is going to move on from Jonathan Kuminga, there's going to be a clear need for added depth heading into next season. In theory, if the Warriors could find a way to pull off a deal, White would be a great addition next to Curry.
White would take a ton of pressure off Curry on both ends of the floor, and he'd bring a different element off their two wing stars that they currently don't have on their roster. In a somewhat unforeseen way, the Warriors could benefit greatly from the struggles that the Celtics currently find themselves in. In many ways, how Boston approaches this offseason could have a huge impact on the rest of the league.