Fred VanVleet would be a great fit for Celtics

I love basketball for what happens on the court, not the math the new CBA is forcing me to do off of it. So forgive my complete and utter ignorance, and indulge in this fantasy: Why isn’t Fred VanVleet the missing piece for the Celtics?

Swapping Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis represents a momentary upgrade, but with a giant 7-foot-3 asterisk. How will we feel about that deal if the Celtics jettison Malcolm Brogdon in a salary dump and watch Grant Williams leave in restricted free agency?

If the trade effectively becomes Smart, Brogdon, and Williams for Porzingis, maybe that helps balance the books, but it’s hard to argue it makes this Celtics team better than the one that tripped on its own face and still reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

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It leaves an obvious hole at point guard, where Payton Pritchard would suddenly go from buried to playing primary minutes behind starter Derrick White. And it leaves a toughness gap, since that was Smart’s primary attribute, and something the rugged Williams brought to the floor, too, at least when he wasn’t complaining to officials.

Enter VanVleet. Unlike the more ballyhooed Damian Lillard, whom the Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor recently pitched as a Celtics trade candidate, VanVleet has actually won something. He played meaningful minutes behind Kyle Lowry during Toronto’s 2019 title-winning season, not only delivering 22 points in the Game 6 clincher vs. the Warriors, but making the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth.

He’s exactly what the Celtics need and he won’t find a better situation, at least if he’s prioritizing another title. He’s tough as nails, he can shoot the 3, and he’s an actual pass-the-ball point guard who just averaged a career-high 7.2 assists a game. That number would certainly rise alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and after four years of watching…