This Would Be Nightmare Scenario For Celtics At NBA Trade Deadline

The Boston Celtics aren’t expected to make a major deal by next Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. But that doesn’t mean their main rivals in the Eastern Conference will be quiet.

While the Celtics have a good cushion on first place in the East and will likely stay in that top spot barring a collapse, the other elite teams in the conference could make it a much more difficult playoff road for Boston by swinging a trade.

But there’s one team in particular that if they pull off a certain trade at the deadline they could have just as good of a chance to make the NBA Finals as the Celtics. And that’s the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers have the pieces in place already to get over their postseason hump — they’ve lost in the conference semifinals the last three seasons and haven’t made the conference finals since 2001 — but a midseason addition or two would give them a much better shot at making that happen and challenging the Celtics.

Here is a proposed deal the 76ers could pull off with the Chicago Bulls and one the Celtics should hope they don’t end up executing:

76ers receive: DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso.
Bulls receive: Marcus Morris Sr., Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, 2024 first-round pick, 2024 second-round pick, and 2027 second-round pick.

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This trade certainly would make the 76ers a greater threat to the Celtics. Philadelphia would get a bona fide scorer in DeRozan, who currently is netting 22 points per game, and an elite wing defender in Caruso. Caruso made the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team last season.

Playing DeRozan alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris gives the 76ers another scoring option while taking pressure off Embiid and Maxey to generate offense and putting it on opposing defenses. And while the mid-range jumper isn’t a value shot anymore, it is in the postseason and DeRozan could provide plenty of that.

Getting Caruso would give the 76ers somebody else to throw at Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Caruso in all likelihood would match up on Brown and it wouldn’t be a stunner if the 6-foot-5 guard gets the Celtics star to be a turnover machine like he has been repeatedly in the postseason.

But why would the Bulls agree to this deal? Morris, Batum and Covington are all on expiring deals, which would open up cap space this offseason for the Bulls to sign a marquee free agent. Chicago isn’t going anywhere in the East, sitting in ninth place with a 23-26 record going into Friday, and opening up cap space plus getting draft capital for DeRozan, who can leave in free agency following the season, probably is the best they can do.

By completing this deal, the 76ers would have a strong eight-man rotation of Embiid, Maxey, Harris, DeRozan, Caruso, Kelly Oubre Jr., De’Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley. That’s just as strong as what the Bucks can trot out, probably even stronger.

Of course, the 76ers’ legitimacy in the East all hinges on the health of Embiid, who suffered a lateral meniscus injury in his left knee, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Thursday. It’s unknown how long Embiid will be sidelined for.

That could force the 76ers into pulling the trigger on a trade so they don’t have a lost season or Embiid’s uncertain health could cause some trepidation and make them play it safe.

The Celtics should hope the 76ers stand pat at the deadline because calling up the Bulls and landing DeRozan and Caruso would hurt Boston’s chances of getting out of the East.