The Celtics face elimination from the NBA playoffs, and Colin Cowherd decided May was the right time to suggest wild, hypothetical trades.
Boston lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 at TD Garden and are down 3-2 with the best-of-seven series heading back to Wells Fargo Center. Fans and analysts questioned for years whether or not Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can coexist, and if the Celtics are eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals, those questions will persist in the offseason.
Cowherd offered up his own logic on the situation. He believed Wednesday on "The Herd" that Boston should make a dramatic move regardless if it wins or loses. He claimed Brown has "got more alpha" -- whatever that phrase means -- and Tatum is the better player.
He then suggested a hypothetical trade where the Celtics trade Brown and Malcolm Brogdon for Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. Cowherd believed the Golden State Warriors pair would make Tatum "clearly the best player," even though he said the 25-year-old was the better player between him and Brown. Wiggins theoretically would be another wing defender to take pressure off Tatum, though Brown already is that for the Celtics. Poole, according to Cowherd, has "got a lot of alpha," but he's not as good as Tatum nor as good as a defender as Brown, so there would be zero issue as to who's team it is between the Boston duo.
Brown, according to Cowherd's logic, despite having "more alpha" with the Celtics, would understand the Warriors are Stephen Curry's team. Cowherd reiterated Poole is not a great defender, but Boston apparently doesn't need more defenders and needs more scorers because Philadelphia has more "alphas," even though multiple analysts did not expect Harden at 33 years old to still carry the load, and the list also seemingly includes Tobias Harris, who hasn't been a major factor in the series.
First of all, the 2-for-2 trade doesn't work because Golden State would be taking in too much salary, but to take a look at Cowherd's hypothetical trade, it's asinine.
Could the Celtics use another scorer? Yes, of course. But president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has had multiple opportunities to add more talent and all he did this season was add Mike Muscala, who hasn't played meaningful minutes in the postseason. Boston banked on Danilo Gallinari on being a key piece, but an ACL injury has taken him out the whole season.
Wiggins is a solid player, and while Poole hasn't had a strong postseason, he's still 23, so he can develop into a better player -- Cowherd claimed he needs to be "the guy," while also using misleading on-off splits with Curry. And Brown would be a wonderful addition to the Warriors, but that's the only team beneffitting.
Cowherd responded to criticism of the trade by wondering if fans are comfortable just sitting around doing nothing. He also noted the Celtics have only one championship since the Larry Bird years, but that's a complete oversimplification that not even Bill Simmons would agree with.
If Boston does get eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals, there should be change to the team, but this half-baked trade idea just is not it. Also, the concept of "alphas" is scientifically untrue and even the researcher who originated the idea has debunked the concept. But that won't stop those who cite it in sports debates from thinking they know it all.
