Cedric Maxwell: C’s should pursue these two players this summer originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
It’s clear the Boston Celtics need to make some changes this summer after a disappointing 2020-21 season.
They finished seventh in the Eastern Conference standings with a 36-36 record and have been overmatched in their first-round playoff series vs. the Brooklyn Nets. Despite having a talented trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker, the Celtics might have to shake up their roster before next season tips off.
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So what types of moves can they make to get back in the title contender conversation? Celtics great Cedric Maxwell explained how he believes Boston can improve this offseason.
“You’re not going to trade [Jayson] Tatum, that’s not going to happen. [Jaylen] Brown is your next best asset You might have to move him,” Maxwell said on Arbella Early Edition. “Karl-Anthony Towns would be the person I’d like to see. … He’s a big that can rebound the basketball. If you don’t do that, maybe a team like Denver and make a move for [Michael] Porter Jr. who’s an unbelievable scorer and about seven feet tall.”
“What I see in Brown and Tatum, they’re almost duplicate players. You need something that’s going to be different, a little bit more nasty.”
Towns, a two-time All-Star, averaged 24.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this season for the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves. Porter Jr. broke out this season for the Nuggets with 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Parting ways with Brown would not be easy. The 24-year-old just enjoyed his best season yet as a pro and all signs point to him becoming a perrenial All-Star.
Still, Maxwell believes the Celtics trading Brown might be a necessary evil for a team that needs an overhaul.
“You have to be willing to make those kinds of moves,” Maxwell said. “Danny Ainge has always said, and he’s learned from Red Auerbach, ‘Never fall in love with the product because you might have to make changes.’ So I think Danny Ainge is probably looking at it, especially now the way this team has played, and unfortunately here in Boston it’s not about getting to the playoffs, it’s not about getting to the second round, third, whatever. It’s about winning championships. In order to do that, you’re going to have to make some drastic changes for this team.”
With the Celtics currently down 2-0 to the Nets, Ainge likely is already focused on the eventful summer ahead. There’s no doubt some difficult decisions will have to be made.
Hear everything Maxwell had to say in the video above.