Playing "What If" With The Celtics

Kevin Love?

No, that's been explored here and in a million other places on the web so we'll pass on the Love-to-Boston rumor today.

The Celtics have been linked to free agent guard Lance Stephenson.  Stephenson was a big part of the Pacers run to the Eastern Conference Finals the last two seasons but he has reportedly turned down a 5-year/$44-million deal from Indiana in an attempt to cash in on the open market.

Boston does have a $10.3-million trade exception from last summer's blockbuster with the Nets.  That exception could help the Celtics absorb Stephenson's contract.  The Celtics could send Indiana a draft pick in a sign-and-trade deal or send the Pacers a player, such as Brandon Bass or Jeff Green, who would help fill the void left behind by Stephenson's departure.

Rajon Rondo is also rumored to be traded this summer.  One team with expressed interest in Rondo is Sacramento.  The Celtics could deal Rondo to the Kings in exchange for restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas, who has been linked to the Celtics, and 2013 first round pick Ben McLemore.  The Kings would get an All-Star point guard in Rondo to pair with forwards DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay as they try to contend for the first time in a long time while the Celtics would add two young guards to their roster.

Another name the Celtics could show interest in is restricted free agent forward/center Greg Monroe of the Pistons.  Monroe is a very talented player but the Pistons also have Andre Drummond and Josh Smith so they need to let someone go.  Like with Stephenson, the Celtics could send Detroit a draft pick for Monroe and absorb his contract with their trade exception or they could send them Bass and Green, who would complement the duo of Drummond and Smith better than Monroe does.

For the sake of speculation, let's say Danny Ainge pulls off all three deals.  He sends two future first round picks to Indiana for Stephenson, who gets a 4-year/$48-million contract from Boston (mostly absorbed through the trade exception).  He then deals Rondo and Keith Bogans (for salary cap purposes on Boston's end) to Sacramento for Thomas, McLemore, and a future first round pick and then takes that Kings pick and adds Bass and Green in a deal for Monroe.

That would give Boston a roster looking something like this:

5 - Greg Monroe, Colton Iverson, Vitor Faverani
4 - Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk
3 - Lance Stephenson, Gerald Wallace, James Young
2 - Avery Bradley, Ben McLemore, James Young
1 - Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas, Phil Pressey

That's probably not a playoff team in 2014-15, even in the weak Eastern Conference, but a year of development for all those young players under the leadership of Brad Stevens and the ability of Ainge to package some of these young assets with the plethora of first round picks the team has at its disposal (even after the picks I included in these mythical trades) to add a star player to the roster in an attempt to have the team back in contention by 2015-16.