Following the mind-boggling transaction prior to the Feb. 6. NBA trade deadline that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, a growing sense of general uncertainty has reverberated throughout the rest of the league.
With the Dončić deal officially opening the floodgates to trades that were previously thought to be unimaginable, the Boston Celtics could be the next storied NBA franchise to complete a seismic deal to acquire a potential building block for the team’s future.
The team could do so by making an aggressive trade pursuit for an All-NBA point guard and one of the most electrifying players in the entire league from the Memphis Grizzlies who might not be sticking around with his current franchise past this summer, according to recent reports.
“I’m constantly checking in with executives around trade deadline about like, okay, what we saw, what we didn’t see, what’s next, and in this league you are always, always, always on the lookout for who’s the next wave of stars that are going to be dealt, right?” The Ringer’s Howard Beck shared during a Saturday appearance on The Ringer NBA Show podcast.
“And somebody out of the blue said, ‘keep an eye on Ja (Morant) this summer.”
Coming off of an NBA title win in 2024 and looking to repeat as champions by the conclusion of the 2025 postseason, Boston could very well be looking to extend their championship window as far as possible by landing the 25-year-old superstar in a massive offseason trade.
In just his sixth NBA season, the two-time All-Star and 2022 Most Improved Player award winner Morant is averaging 20.7 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 28.8 minutes for the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed Grizzlies this season.
Though he’s leading his team to success in 2024-25, Boston’s general manager Brad Stevens may be unrelenting in his pursuit of the explosive 6-foot-2 guard, as he might not let the opportunity to pair Morant with fellow superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown pass him by.
In a potential deal for Boston, the franchise would likely have to part with a beloved, core piece of their title-winning group from 2024 Jrue Holiday to make a trade work financially.
While it would be tough to let go of a generational defensive talent like Holiday, he’ll have the opportunity to accept a $37 million player option for 2027-28 at 37 years old with the Celtics if he were to be kept.
On the other hand, Morant’s $44 million salary for 2027-28 as he enters his age-28 season looks to be the more attractive option for the organization moving forward.
By possibly forming a Big 3 with the championship-winning duo of Tatum and Brown in the summer of 2025, the Celtics would likely continue their run of dominance in the Eastern Conference for years to come.
