Tag: 2024 trade deadline

Celtics team president Brad Stevens hints Boston is potentially looking to add a big wing

The head of basketball ops noted that Boston’s situation will make such a search hard, however.

With the NBA in the thick of its annual trade season, fans of the Boston Celtics who have become accustomed to their favorite team making moves to fortify their roster in a quest for a ball club capable of winning it all may find themselves disappointed by what the Celtics do ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. But with the best record in the league and a boatload of constraints imposed by the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), there may be little in the way of trades to be made.

Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens alluded to this while speaking to the media at practice today, hinting that Boston’s best chance to get better could be an internal process. But he also tantalized with a hint that there is one area in particular that might be improved via trade.

“Every year around this time, how do we improve to give ourselves the best chance,” asked Stevens rhetorically via NBC Boston Sports.

Celtics Lab 234: Why Boston is probably not making big moves at the deadline with Yossi Gozlan

Boston probably won’t stand pat, but isn’t likely to make major moves – so what IS on the table?

With the Boston Celtics rolling and their path to hanging Banner 18 looking more possible than it has in many years, you can’t fault fans of the storied ball club for hoping for a reunion with former Boston big men Daniel Theis or Kelly Olynyk. Or failing that, team president Brad Stevens getting a deal done for rumored target Isaiah Stewart to fortify the team’s frontcourt.

Even fairly modest trades like these are probably not in the cards for the Celtics this season, who can’t follow through with an offer that makes sense given the exigencies of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement or the team’s current structure.

But the team will almost certainly make at least a few lesser moves to get better ahead of the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline in Early February, so the hosts of CLNS Media’s “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with Cap Sheets‘ Yossi Gozlan to try to project what it is Boston actually will end up doing.

We also get into why those fun but unrealistic deals bringing back Celtics alumni or Beef Stew are unlikely or impossible, and get caught up on the last Boston news of 2023.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

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What do the Boston Celtics have for draft assets ahead of the 2024 trade deadline?

For a team in the thick of the mix of contenders for the 2024 NBA Championship, the Boston Celtics have a surprisingly solid mix of draft assets they could use to improve their roster.

For a team in the thick of the mix of contenders for the 2024 NBA Championship, the Boston Celtics have a surprisingly solid mix of draft assets they could use to improve their roster ahead of the league’s 2024 trade deadline, on Feb. 8 this season. And given the ball club pushed its chips in this past offseason in a big way to bring on star big man Kristaps Porzingis and vet guard Jrue Holiday, that collection is even more impressive.

At present, the Celtics could offer either a pair of their 2024 and 2026 first round draft picks, or their 2025 and 2027 first round picks (the league’s “Stepien rule” prevents trading consecutive picks) with their 2029 first owed to the Portland Trail Blazers. They can also offer any of these alone, or 2024 and 2027. Boston can also swap their firsts for any draft save the 2018 first, with that swap owed to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Celtics also have a total of eight second round picks it can add to a deal to sweeten the offer.

While Boston may not have the contracts to add substantial salary to the team’s cap sheet as a second apron team, they are reportedly planning to try to upgrade their bench via trade if possible.

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What moves could the Boston Celtics make to bolster their roster for a title run?

Is there a world where standing pat and hoping for good health is actually the wiser move?

What potential moves and additions could the Boston Celtics make around the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline to bolster their roster for a championship run? Would adding a big man like Isaiah Stewart or Andre Drummond make sense, or is the team’s roster set with the emergence of two way big man Neemias Queta?

What about moves to upgrade the Celtics’ guard depth? Would it make sense for Boston to pursue Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso, or are they set on that front with reserve Celtics guard Payton Pritchard shaking off early season rust? What about adding Austin Rivers or Kris Dunn? Is there a world where standing pat and hoping for good health is actually the wiser move?

The hosts of the “Green With Envy” podcast recently weighed in on Boston’s potential avenues to make the team better for a title run.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Should the Boston Celtics ask after the trade availability of Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate?

Boston is one of several clubs that ought to consider it per The Athletic, along with the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat. 

Should the Boston Celtics ask after the trade availability of Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate? In the assessment of The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, Boston is one of several clubs that ought to consider it, along with the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat.

“While Tate can be a good veteran on a Rockets team competing for a playoff spot this year, his value league-wide might exceed his likely role in Houston because of his relatively cheap contract,” writes Vecenie. “A number of teams possess trade exceptions big enough to absorb Tate’s 2023-24 salary in exchange for draft pick capital,” but this does not include the Celtics, who have a $6.2 million trade exception from Grant Williams’ exit to the Dallas Mavericks that Tate makes too much to fit into at $6.5 million in salary.

Could a trade outright make sense, then?  With reserve guard Payton Pritchard poison pilled on his new extension, his incoming salary is valued at $6.8 million, but his outgoing cap hit is just $4.0 million for Boston, making such a deal CBA-illegal.

Attaching one of the three $2 million salaries the Celtics have on their roster could get the job done, and with the sparse playing time of Dalano Banton, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Lamar Stevens, such a move is not out of the question.

Standing just 6-foot-4, Tate is not your usual frontcourt player, but his 35.9% rate from deep and 3.5 boards and 1.1 assists per game in what has increasingly become a declining role in Houston could make sense if Boston’s front office balks on Pritchard’s inconsistency this season.

But we think a player making less — and perhaps more able to help serve as more of a traditional big man — a more likely target for Boston, perhaps even as a buyout option instead of trade.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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Celtics trade rumors are starting to percolate; who might make sense for Boston?

Could larger forwards like Dean Wade, Chuma Okeke, Jarryd Vanderbilt, and Jaylen McDaniels make for realistic trade targets for the Celtics?

The Boston Celtics have raced out to an impressive 20-5 start to the 2022-23 NBA season. Even so, rumors are beginning to swirl about potential trades the team could make to bolster their roster. One name that has come up is Detroit Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart. Though the Celtics have reportedly shown interest, it’s unclear whether that interest is recent given the difficulties Boston would have trading for the center.

Could larger forwards like Dean Wade, Chuma Okeke, Jarryd Vanderbilt, and Jaylen McDaniels make for more realistic trade targets for the Celtics? What about centers with a more stout build like Nick Richards, or one in more of a small-ball mold like Precious Achiuwa?

The financial constraints on the team make any such moves especially tough for Boston, as was the intent in the league’s new CBA.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast weighed in on the early rumbles of Boston’s trade plans; check it out above!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

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On the Boston Celtics’ reported interest in Detroit big man Isaiah Stewart

How serious is such a trade rumor from the Celtics side of the equation given the financial complications baked into any such swap?

As it generally tends to go down at the start of every NBA trade season, trade rumors have emerged suggesting the Boston Celtics have trade interest in Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. Such a potential trade could add a new dimension to the team’s frontcourt with a considerable boost to the team’s big man depth, but the nature of Stewart being poison pill restricted makes any such deal a complicated one in terms of salary matching for the Celtics.

As rumors begin to percolate from reliable sources that Boston is going to be aggressive in their search to bolster the team’s bench, the sparks behind the smoke are starting to come into focus. But how serious is such a trade rumor from the Celtics side of the equation given the financial complications baked into any such swap?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast recently weighed in on this latest Boston trade rumor.

Check it out above!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Shams: Celtics are ‘going to be aggressive’ in searching for bench upgrades

“They want to see what’s out there in the marketplace in terms of bench depth,” reports Charania.

By now, one of the worst kept secrets in the NBA is that the 20-5 Boston Celtics are looking to fortify their bench rotation despite looking like the best team in the league early in the 2023-24 season.

Adding more smoke to that potential metaphorical fire is The Athletic’s Shams Charania, who previously reported on Boston looking to make moves in a less specific report a few weeks ago. Now, in a recent appearance on the FanDuel “Run It Back” podcast, Charania shared that it is indeed the bench that the Celtics are looking for ways to improve on the trade market.

“They still have assets left over” after their blockbuster deals to bring in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, related the Athletic reporter.

Isaiah Stewart reportedly of ‘great interest’ to the Celtics as a trade target

But is that realistic given Boston’s cap situation?

The Boston Celtics are widely reported to have interest in bolstering their bench ahead of the 2024 NBA trade deadline, but as a second apron ball club in the league’s new fiscal reality, trading for impactful players will be onerous, and by design.

With that in mind, recent word from The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III that the Celtics, along with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks, “have shown great interest in Isaiah Stewart,” the Detroit Pistons big man Boston was previously tied to in terms of trade interest. But before Celtics fans get too excited about the idea of adding Beef Stew to their bench rotation, doing so after he signed a poison-pill extension would require sending out a core player to pull it off.

That means Boston would have to deal with a player making at least as much as Al Horford’s $10 million salary to land Stewart, who would count as $13 million towards the Celtics’ cap despite making just $5.2 million this season due to the poison pill extension.

And before you ask, it is already too late in the season to bring a player into the Grant Williams traded player exception to then re-aggregate with additional contracts.

Beef Stew may indeed be on the move soon, but it doesn’t look like it will be to Boston, this latest rumbling perhaps tied to previous reported interest from the Celtics rather than anything current — or at least likely to happen.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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How important is a bench upgrade at the trade deadline for the Boston Celtics?

In the eyes of some, the Celtics have a potent mix of offensive firepower and defensive skill, with their championship aspirations hinging on addressing their bench concerns.

The Boston Celtics are leading the Eastern Conference and widely seen as one of the best teams in the NBA so far this season. The Celtics elite shooting from beyond the arc is a major factor in their success, but with a more varied offense made possible by the addition of Kristaps Porzingis in the offseason, the ball club is elite on both ends of the court.

And though the team’s bench rotation is better than it has been in many seasons, there are still some cracks in the foundation they provide that Boston needs to address if it wants to give itself the best possible chance at hanging a banner this summer.

In the eyes of some, the Celtics have a potent mix of offensive firepower and defensive skill, with their championship aspirations hinging on addressing their bench concerns.

The folks behind the “Backyard Buckets” YouTube channel offered their own view on the urgency of bench upgrades for Boston; check it out above!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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