The Boston Celtics are a truly iconic franchise. They've won 17 championships, which is tied for the most in NBA history with the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately for Celtics fans, their teams have not been championship contenders for about ten years. While the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown duo has been really good, they still lack real quality to contend for NBA titles on a consistent bases. It is the same situation now that Boston finds themselves in, but there are potential Celtics trade candidates that would change that status.

Their roster was enhanced in certain ways during the summer. Al Horford was brought back and losses were cut on Kemba Walker. Additionally, Josh Richardson was brought in and Enes Kanter brought back. These moves were all pluses and positives, so the Celtics should be better this season, barring major injuries.

However, they can still get better. Here are two potential Celtics trade candidates that would improve the team even further: D'Angelo Russell and Marvin Bagley.

Celtics trade candidates

The Celtics really need help in the frontcourt. Enter Mavin Bagley who hasn't had much success with the Sacramento Kings.

While Jayson Tatum is an elite player, he is a small forward and not a natural power forward. Putting him in the four spot gives him an advantage on the offensive end, as the generally slower forwards cannot contain him. However, he has issues on the defensive end where he is not as strong as them, thus creating issues. The Celtics would get a starting-level power forward in Bagley and for cents on the dollar.

Unfortunately for the prospect, he has not had the greatest time in Sacramento. Bagley was selected second in the 2018 NBA Draft, but his career has not gone well since. Right now, he has one year left on his deal and if Bagley wants a ton of money next summer, getting out of Sacramento is the way to go. With that in mind, teams like the Celtics have their chance at snagging him.

Bagley would be the perfect compliment for this Celtics squad. He is a natural four who is a very tough player. Additionally, he is a very consistent player who was just unlucky to find himself in the worst-run NBA franchise situation. His numbers are stagnating, that part is true, but in these situations, a change of scenery can do wonders.

The Celtics would get an important piece that would be able to start at the four and get valuable minutes at the five. That would allow Jaylen Brown to start at the two-guard spot, where he can take defensive duties of guarding the opposition's best guard. Of course, that would also allow Jayson Tatum to go to the three, where he can run the Celtics' offense. Bagley would be a cheap, effective, and polyvalent solution for most front-court Celtics struggles.

D'Angelo Russell would be the perfect third-star for this Celtics team as well. The still-young point guard is kind of stuck in a poor situation with a Minnesota Timberwolves team without immediate chances of a playoff run. If he was to join the Celtics, he would unlock his full potential and finally play on a team ready to contend.

Right now, the distribution of the ball in the Celtics' offense is mostly on Tatum. Both Dennis Schroder and Marcus Smart are not playmakers, so that skill is really lacking in this team. With Russell, while he is not perfect, the Celtics would be able to have a much more organized offense. Russell is not going to break any assists records, obviously, but he has valuable experience running an NBA offense. He did it for the Nets in that surprise playoff run a couple of years back, putting his name on the map. An NBA offense with a true point guard, as Russell is, simply looks better than without a real ball distributor.

While his reputation is not perfect, Russell will remain an elite NBA player. His focus is sometimes off and he has moments where he takes too many shots when they are not falling. However, with this Celtics roster, he would be the third option and would not have the chance to do that. If the focus can be on distributing the ball and getting everyone involved, Russell makes this Celtics team better instantly.

The Celtics will be attacking the postseason again, hoping to go further than the first round this year. Without the trades, they have a lot of questions going into the season. However, should they target and get one of these players, or both, as they would be a playoff lock even before the season starts. As of right now, the Celtics are in contention to be around the 8th seed, with this roster.