We’re not going to see any player movement in the NBA at the moment when it comes to trades, but the Boston Celtics have a really unbalanced backcourt, with their point guard options beyond Rajon Rondo very limited at best, which just might mean that someone from the group that includes Courtney Lee, Avery Bradley, Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brook might get traded.
At the moment, Rondo doesn’t seem like someone who is going to be healthy enough to start the season for the Celtics, and his recovery might drag on into December. This makes Phil Pressey, who impressed the Celtics during the Summer League to make the team, the only natural point guard for them to use in the absence of Rondo.
Lee might be the best player for Boston to move, but his contract makes it difficult. He can play the point, but is more of a shooting guard whose main strength is his defense. But he is due to make over $5.2 million in each of the next three seasons, which makes moving him a big problem, unless the Celtics are willing to take back a bad contract in return for having a more capable point guard than Pressey.
Brooks, out of this group, is the least suited to play the point, but he might the player with the most upside, not to mention still being on his rookie deal, giving him $1.2 million this season and a team option for $2.2 million next one. Because of his offensive potential it’s going to be very surprising if the Celtics actually try to trade him.
Avery Bradley is the team’s best defenders, but pretty normal, if not worse, when it comes to his offense. He’ll be making $2.5 million this season and will become a restricted free agent if his deal isn’t extended by October 31. He might not be the answer to the Celtics’ point guard problems, but he can do a decent enough job at the point if he shares it with someone else, not to mention being the team’s best permieter defender.
And we get to the weird case of Jordan Crawford, who is the most suited of the group to run the point guard position, but is also a completely unreliable player. Like Bradley, Crawford is up for an extension or he’ll become a restricted free agent next summer (making $2.1 million this season). He might be a good option to move, but it’s hard to find a team that will take him.
Regardless of the help for Rondo, the man himself will be mentioned in trade talk constantly throughout this season, and more and more if the Celtics do badly.