Mike Conley Jr. is headed to the Boston Celtics, and the fit is interesting enough on its own. But the reason he wanted Boston makes the move even more notable: according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, Conley wanted to spend at least one year with a “flagship franchise.”
That part landed with some irony, because Conley was nearly a Celtic long before this.
Boston was in the middle of one of its most important roster-building stretches in 2007, when the franchise was chasing a high lottery pick and hoping for Kevin Durant or Greg Oden. Instead, the Celtics ended up with the No. 5 selection, the worst possible outcome for the second-worst team in the NBA.
Conley wasn’t the same level of prospect as Durant or Oden, but he was right near the top of that draft. He was expected to go no lower than No. 4, behind Al Horford, and that is exactly how it played out. The Celtics were sitting just behind Memphis in the race for the No. 4 pick, so Boston was painfully close to landing him.
What would have happened if the Celtics had gotten there first? That question hangs over the whole story.
With the No. 5 pick, Boston took Jeff Green, then moved him to Seattle with Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak in the deal for Ray Allen and a second-round pick that became Glen Davis. At the time, Conley was viewed by some as the more promising player than Green, and there was even talk that if Boston intended to keep the pick, Yi Jianlian might have been the choice.
That leaves a lot of room for what-ifs. If Boston had drafted Conley, would it have held onto him and gone younger?
If the plan was still to build around the Big 3, would the trade package for Allen have looked different? Conley’s value as a prospect might have changed whether West needed to be included.
And if Conley had somehow stayed in Boston longer, he might even have been part of the Kevin Garnett deal.
Instead, the path bent another way, and now Conley gets the shot he was nearly given almost two decades ago. NBA history is built on those tiny breaks, and this one feels especially sharp.
In Other News...
NBA Legend Blasts Celtics Over Hard To Defend Jaylen Brown Gamble
Charles Barkley did not hold back on the Celtics decision to move Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia, calling it one of the craziest trades he has seen during a recent podcast. The reaction around the league has been just as sharp, with media analysts handing Boston low marks for the deal and focusing on the shape of the return package, which centered on Paul George and draft picks.
For Boston, the trade was framed by president Brad Stevens as a roster-building move tied to the way the team is constructed and the realities of the salary cap. Still, anytime a franchise parts with a player as established as Brown, the debate tends to linger well beyond the initial shock, and this one already has the feel of a move that will be dissected from every angle until the Celtics prove whether the gamble was worth it. [Read more 🡒]
How The 76ers Managed To Pry Jaylen Brown From Boston
The 76ers spent weeks working the phones before finally landing Jaylen Brown from Boston, a deal that brought one of the leagues most polished two-way wings to Philadelphia in exchange for a package built around two first-round picks, two second-round picks and Paul George. Mike Gansey, the Sixers president, said the negotiation dragged on as the team kept pressing to make the move happen, even after Bostons earlier pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo reshaped the landscape around the trade talks.
For Boston, it is the kind of move that can linger because Brown had become such a central figure in the teams identity and title hopes. For Philadelphia, the appeal is obvious: Brown is expected to step into a major role right away, with the Sixers viewing him as a centerpiece who can help push them back into championship contention and perhaps toward a second NBA title. [Read more 🡒]
Isaiah Thomas Just Floated A Late-Career Move Celtics Fans Will Debate
Isaiah Thomas has kept his basketball conversations alive well after his last NBA appearance, and now he is openly talking about a possible next chapter overseas. On social media, the former Celtics guard said he wants to play basketball in Europe and offered a glimpse of how he would approach the game differently if he got another chance, a reminder that his career path is still a topic of interest for Boston fans who watched him become one of the leagues most unlikely stars.
Thomas last appeared in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns during the 2023-24 season, but the overseas door has at least been cracked open a bit. Zalgiris Kaunas invited him to take in a game from courtside, which gives the idea some real-life texture even if there is still no clear indication that an actual contract offer is coming. For a player whose next move always seems to invite debate, this is the kind of development that keeps the conversation going. [Read more 🡒]