Trade rumor: Celtics interested in Aaron Gordon, John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic

The NBA trade deadline approaches so that means more Boston Celtics rumors. Insert your own jokes here, we’ve heard them all.

Our old friend Kevin O’Connor checks in with a couple of rumors focused on the Celtics. For one thing, the long rumored interest in Aaron Gordon appears real, but there are other suitors out there as well.

The Rockets, Warriors, Celtics, Timberwolves, and Trail Blazers have all had talks with the Magic for Gordon, league sources say.

In addition, the Celtics interest in John Collins could involve more than one Hawks player.

Boston’s pursuit of Collins also involves another key Hawks rotation player, according to league sources: Bogdan Bogdanovic, whom the Celtics had some trade discussions about while he was in Sacramento. If the Hawks were to acquire Ball, maybe moving Bogdanovic would make some sense. Both Collins, 23, and Bogdanovic, 28, fit the timeline of All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are 23 and 24, yet are good enough to compete now.

Adding John Collins has been on the radar for a while now. He would be a huge addition to the team. He would also, it seems, be extremely expensive to re-sign in the offseason but the team would have the ability to match any offer.

Adding Bogdanovic, a dynamic wing scorer, would be a much needed boost for the bench as well.

The question then becomes what the cost would be for these guys. It would likely require at least some draft picks and probably a player or two off the Celtics roster. The Hawks seem to have enough centers so I’m not sure if they’d be interested in any of Boston’s rotation, but perhaps a 3rd team could be included if necessary.

This won’t be the last rumor you hear of, and yes, I know everyone’s making the same Danny Ainge jokes about “getting close” and all that. I’m still skeptical that anything will actually get done but I do feel like there’s added motivation to do something this year. So we’ll see.