The 2018-19 season inexorably altered the course of the Celtics so much that it can be easy to forget the team’s goal was once to acquire Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.
But at the time, pursuing an Irving/Davis pairing was pretty reasonable — Davis was unhappy in New Orleans, and the Celtics had plenty of excess star power, especially after Jayson Tatum’s breakout rookie season. The Celtics could — most people reasoned — trade Tatum to the Pelicans, keep Jaylen Brown and have an impressive new trio with Davis, Brown, and Irving (as well as Gordon Hayward).