Tag: celtics trade targets

Pistons open to trading all players – could one help Boston?

With the Detroit Pistons reportedly open to trading any player on their roster, there are several NOT named Andre Drummond the Boston Celtics should consider.

January is a month of reckoning for NBA front offices.

Teams are starting to reassess their goals from the start of the season, with the month being the last run of games a franchise can take stock of how well the parts they started the season work together, and whether changes need to be made.

For some teams, the month won’t be needed, and the Detroit Pistons have made up their mind they are one such club.

With a 14-26 record and All-NBA forward Blake Griffin likely to miss the rest of the season with the same knee issues that ended his 2018-19 run, it’s clear the team won’t be competing for postseason success.

And with star center Andre Drummond all but certain to opt out of the final season of his current deal, it makes sense the team has been looking to move the big man while he still might have trade value.

The Boston Celtics have been linked to the UConn product, but the assets likely needed to deal for the former Husky don’t make much sense for the Massachusetts franchise.

Team president Danny Ainge has made it clear he won’t trade away key players for a short-term rental, and with Drummond making $27 million this season on an expiring deal, a trade for Big Penguin is unlikely.

However, the Detroit Free Press’ Vincent Goodwill reports the team will listen to trade proposals about any player on the roster, and there are a few the Celtics should consider making calls about.

Detroit has several players on affordable contracts who might be able to help the Celtics in the postseason, but some may come at too high a cost for the team to reasonably hope to pry them away, while others may not be such a good fit for Boston’s style of play.

Derrick Rose, for example, would be an intriguing backup point guard for Boston, but much of the success driving his resurgence with the Pistons is due to his adept ability as a pick-and-roll player, which the Celtics do not use often in head coach Brad Stevens’ pace-and-space system.

Third-year shooting guard Luke Kennard could be an interesting option, but the price might be steep due to his age (just 23) and excellent shooting — he’s 40.2 % from beyond the arc over his career, and logged 6.5 attempts a game last season.

His defense is bad, but he’s young and would play on the second unit alongside Marcus Smart, mitigating what you’d lose on that end of the court.

Finding a match for $3.8 million Kennard is owed this season would be uncomplicated. That he has another year afterwards for a bargain $5.2 million would make some difficult payroll decisions involving Gordon Hayward potentially easier to weather.

Forward Markieff Morris might offer many of the same benefits on the offensive end of the court with the twin of former Celtic Marcus logging a career-high 40.2 % from beyond the arc on nine attempts per season.

While his defense isn’t as good as Mook’s, he’s also a big body who could help with filling the frontcourt. Earning just $3.2 million, he’s also easy to match salaries with, and would likely only require a younger player and a second-round pick to secure.

Fourth-year center Thon Maker could be an interesting depth big target, a serviceable rim protector against the reserve lineups he’d mostly face. His low salary ($3.5 million) and ability to stretch the floor a bit are added perks.

Center Christian Wood is another target on the Pistons Boston could go after.

Only earning $1.6 million, the 24-year-old journeyman has been pulling down 5.2 boards and blocking 0.8 block per contest over just 16.8 minutes per game while hitting 35.7 % of his 3-pointers at 1.6 attempts per game.

None of these players will catapult Boston into the realm of title favorites, but there may not be such a trade out there anyway.

But, there may be trades to be made around the margins that could help set the stage for a balanced roster in future seasons while raising the team’s floor this season — if not with Detroit, then the next team to cautiously wave the white flag on the current season.

Expect a team or two each week this month to come to terms with the reality of their record and roster as we inch closer to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

While a trade that gives both instant gratification and concrete results may simply be out of reach, the natural arc of the NBA season should shake out intriguing trade and buyout option over the next several weeks.

Report: Boston ‘has monitored’ OKC’s Danilo Gallinari as trade target

The Boston Celtics have been monitoring Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari’s availability via trade, per Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus.

The Boston Celtics have eyes for Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari, reports Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus.

The 31-year-old big man joins a growing list of players Boston has reportedly been keeping tabs on, including the Detroit Pistons’ center Andre Drummond and Washington Wizards’ forward Davis Bertans.

The asking price of any deal for the Italian swingman would require dealing Gordon Hayward or Marcus Smart, as he is earning $22.6 million this season and would therefore require at least $17.6 million in salary to keep such a deal CBA-legal.

Even cobbling together Boston’s four biggest salaries after Marcus Smart would not reach that threshold, so any deal for Gallinari’s expiring contract would require the Texan guard or his teammate Hayward.

The reported interest is curious, as the former sixth overall pick would not be much of an upgrade over Smart or Hayward at 18 points, 5.6 boards and 2.2 assists per game this season.

It also wouldn’t put Boston in a better situation in terms of retaining value, as Gallinari’s deal is guaranteed to put the forward on the free agent market this summer.

Smart, on the other hand, is locked up until the 2021-22 season on a good value contract, and Hayward at least has a chance to opt-in to the final year of his contract this summer for $34.1 million.

Add in the psychological importance of the Flower Mound native and that you’s have to include other players and probably draft assets, and it seems this is another potential trade to monitor, but with less urgency.

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Report: Boston Celtics ‘have emerged as suitors’ for Davis Bertans

The Boston Celtics may be looking to add Washington Wizards sharpshooting swingman Davis Bertans to add to the team’s wing depth.

Washington Wizards swingman Davis Bertans is a trade target of the Boston Celtics, reports NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes.

Before today, the Celtics have been tied to several big men who might hit the trade market before the February 6 deadline, with few if any looking plausible.

This has been due to a combination of issues, ranging from a dearth of targets who would fit the Celtics’ wing-centric system to a lack of viable contracts for salary matching, among others.

Boston’s success this season could be at risk if the larger-salaried players were dealt in a roster-boosting trade, and trade-checker fantasies involving three or more players and/or teams are simply implausible in a cap-constricted league environment.

The Athletic’s John Hollinger suggested Boston might be on the hunt for a wing player, and Bertans is among several candidates who might fit the bill of what the Celtics are looking for in any mid-season moves.

The interest of Boston noted by Hughes is no anomaly, either.

The Washington beat writer lists the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Philadelphia 76ers as competition for the 6-foot-10 swingman.

Bertans is mobile enough to play as a forward in the Celtics system, but with enough size to fill in as a big in some matchups, making him an ideal target save longer-term cap concerns to resign the Valmiera native.

Logging 15.4 points, 1.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 43.4 % from three over 8.6 attempts per contest for the Wizards this season, Bertans has landed on a lot of team’s radars to date.

Unfortunately for all of them — Boston included — it seems general manager Tommy Sheppard is not interested in dealing the 27-year-old forward at present.

On a $7 million expiring contract that would be easy for most teams to trade for (Celtics included), Bertans may garner a deal in the $15-20 million range in a relatively dull free agency market this summer.

Boston has several first-round picks which could convey in the 2020 NBA Draft (including a 2020 Memphis pick that could fall in the lottery and convey if outside top-six protections) and several young prospects that might change Sheppard’s mind about dealing the Latvian sharpshooter.

Bertans will likely be intensely pursued until rival teams are told a deal is out of the question, so the Wizards GM would be wise to take his time and let offers build as the deadline approaches.

It seems unlikely a trade will come anytime soon, but it’s something for Celtics fans to monitor in the meantime.

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Dewayne Dedmon wants off of the Kings — does a Boston deal make sense?

With his relationship with Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton now beyond repair, is a deal to the Boston Celtics potentially in the making?

Sacramento Kings center Dewayne Dedmon wants out of his current situation, reports the Athletics’ NBA insider Shams Charania.

The seven-year veteran has seen his minutes nearly cut in half from what he received at his last stop with the Atlanta Hawks, and has logged some of the worst numbers of his career as a result.

Boston Celtics fans keen to upgrade the team’s frontcourt rotation are already daydreaming about the Californian big man’s fit and and availability, and given his recent past, it’s understandable why.

Dedmon recorded a career season in 2018-19 with the Hawks, logging 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks over 25.1 minutes per game while shooting .382 from beyond the arc 3.4 times per contest.

This season, the USC product is putting up a mere 4.8 points, 3.8 boards and .5 blocks per tilt over just 13.6 minutes a game, with the reduced role behind much of the slump.

This drop in playing time is a result of a mutual falling-out between Dedmon and Kings head coach Luke Walton, with each side believing the situation has progressed to the point of being irreparable, Charania relates.

In fact, the 30-year-old center has received DNP-CDs eight of his last ten games, a strong signal the big man’s time in Sacramento is drawing to a close.

A solid rim protector able to rebound and stretch the floor is certain to get followers of most NBA teams interested, but for the Celtics, the Lancaster native’s paycheck presents a significant obstacle.

Earning $13.3 million this season, Dedmon’s contract makes deals that would make sense for Boston functionally impossible, as salary matching would require dealing one of Boston’s four best players.

This conundrum has been at the center of a number of proposed trade ideas in recent weeks, with some analysts even hearing the Celtics might instead move to trade for a wing if they make a move at all.

While it’s true that Boston is in need of a big who can help contain the Giannis Antetokounmpos and Joel Embiids of the NBA, they are far from alone in that regard.

It’s also worth noting that even with Dedmon’s ability to draw out non-shooting bigs on the attack, it’s mainly the other side of the ball the Celtics need help with from a five.

The unhappy big man will likely find a home in a hurry if things are indeed beyond repair with his current team, but the odds that it’s with the Celtics are very low indeed, barring a surprise buyout if no other franchises come courting.

Could the Celtics be planning to trade…for a wing?

Amid speculation Boston has eyes to upgrade its frontcourt, former Memphis exec John Hollinger thinks a wing could actually be the target.

If former Memphis Grizzlies vice president John Hollinger is right, the Boston Celtics may indeed be looking to make a trade before the February deadline — but not, as many assumed, for a big man.

While much ink has been spilled on how the team might upgrade its frontcourt and the difficulties of matching salaries for the handful of impact players at the four or five who might realistically be dealt, Hollinger believes Boston might go in an entirely different direction.

With so few players in the league able to do much to contain (never mind control) the offensive output of players like East rivals Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo even without considering whether they might be dealt, the former Memphis executive thinks the Celtics wing rotation could perhaps use a boost.

“[A] source tells me that the Celtics may … be looking in a completely different direction,” than upgrading their bigs, explains Hollinger in a recent article in the Athletic.

“The centers Boston could acquire that would be upgrades on their current roster all make north of $20 million, which makes trading for them virtually impossible without surrendering a key player such as Marcus Smart,”

he adds, addressing the dearth of likely targets available to Boston.

For those who have been paying as much attention to the Celtics’ defeats as their victories, the losses haven’t been the fault of their frontcourt players. In fact, some of those big men have been something of a surprise, even to Hollinger.

“Daniel Theis is playing well and Robert Williams shows enough flashes to believe he could be a force by this spring; so how much would they really be improving themselves?”he asks, referencing the limited role and better-than-anticipated play Boston has gotten from their bargain-basement frontcourt.

Hollinger’s source instead wonders if the team might trade for “another perimeter player, particularly a wing or forward” given the importance of the position’s play to the team’s overall schema on both ends of the floor.

“The Celtics currently stretch their five best players across four positions, but an injury to even one of them leaves their rotation badly out of whack, as the dropoff from Marcus Smart to the Brad Wanamakers and Semi Ojeleyes at the back end of their roster is severe.”

The anonymous source makes a good point — Boston has done well even with a limited group of big men available in recent games, not looking any worse for the wear.

It’s hard to imagine the team having the same record with extended absences for Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum. Harder still when you consider neither Smart nor Gordon Hayward have been especially healthy this season.

Who are some of the more likely candidates that fit the bill described by Hollinger’s source? A quick survey of teams near the bottom of the standings with contracts in the range the team could make a move for without trading key players produces a few intriguing candidates, roughly $10 million or less.

Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans, for example, would be an ideal target, earning $7 million this season while recording 15.4 points, 4.9 boards and 1.7 assists over 30 minutes per contest, hitting 43.4 % of his shots from deep and half of his attempts from two.

Except, at least officially, the Wiz are not looking to move Bertans, who, at 27 years old, is perhaps still young enough to rebuild with or at least use as part of a larger deal to pair with ailing point guard John Wall and his longtime backcourt partner Bradley Beal next season.

Dario Saric — now with the Phoenix Suns — could be another such option, earning $3.4 million in 2019-20 while shooting 34.3 % from beyond the arc and 55 % on two-pointers, the caveat being enticing the Suns to pull the trigger.

A bit more modest offensively than Bertans, Saric makes up for it by pulling down 7.3 boards a game along with 11.6 points and 2.1 assists over 28.3 minutes a contest.

There are likely other candidates worth considering as well that fit the bill described by Hollinger and his source, and plenty of time for others to emerge with all of January and then some before the February 7th deadline to get a deal done.

While it’s possible Boston could indeed go after a defensive big man in a non-blockbuster trade, Hollinger presents an unexpected but sensible alternative that very well could be the direction president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and company elect to take.

But given how few games a 20-7 Celtics have played together with their full complement of players due to a full slate of early-season injuries, it’s also plausible this is the team we see in the postseason come April.

Looking at three potential Boston Celtics frontcourt trade targets

The Boston Celtics probably need to be healthy more than they need a big man deal. But, there are a few players who might boost the big man rotation that make sense.

With the Boston Celtics in the midst of just their second losing streak of the season, rumbles about moves to bolster the team’s big man rotation are starting to bubble up again.

A few things should be mentioned about the possibility of shaking up the roster to accommodate a new face in Boston’s frontcourt.

Perhaps the biggest of which is that the team hasn’t been losing games because of roster construction, at least as far as bigs are concerned, instead dropping games with close scores to strong opponents while missing key players to injury.

Another important issue is salary matching.

A lot of wishful thinkers would love to see players like the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Steven Adams or even Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love added to the team.

As we’ve recently discussed, their significant salaries would require sending out one of the Celtics’ best, highest-paid players, and therefore doesn’t suggest a clear step forward — perhaps even backwards from the perspective of the team’s youthful age curve.

It’s also worth mentioning that the way the team could best be improved in terms of bigs is a defensively-oriented, fleet-footed five without a need for too many touches.

With four starters capable of providing significant offense and a clear signal additional mouths to feed in the form of last season, an offensively-oriented center is less likely to improve the team’s overall game planning positively.

With most of Boston’s cap tied up in point guard Kemba Walker, forward Gordon Hayward, guard Marcus Smart and recently-extended Jaylen Brown (adding an additional layer of complexity to trades), any deal for an established star would risk disrupting the team’s chemistry-driven success.

This limits the team to a range of salary matching the lower-paid players on the roster, ranging from $5 million to about $900,000.

It’d likely take a third team to absorb outgoing contracts from Boston in many potential deals beyond two players for the Celtics, placing another constraint on such prospective deals.

The league’s collective bargaining agreement limits trades in the range Boston is likely to operate in to either 175% of the outgoing salary, plus $100,000 if the deal is under $6,533,333, or the outgoing salary plus $5 million if greater.

Some of the more likely candidates out there include a different Thunder big man — Massachusetts native Nerlens Noel — who has more going for his candidacy than an accident of birth.

WEEI’s Nick Friar points out “he’s without a doubt the best shot-blocker” of any likely option, which is exactly what the team has been missing while second-year center Robert Williams finds his sea legs.

Off the Glass’ Matt Esposito agrees, noting Noel “dives on screens and gathers steals and blocks at a remarkable rate” while remaining “efficient as a scorer, too”.

While Malden’s favorite son may only be scoring 7.7 points per game this season, his field goal percentage is a robust 65.4 % with 5 boards and 1.6 blocks over 18.6 minutes per game for good measure.

The most important aspect of any Noel trade is his exceptionally low salary, meaning the team could likely construct a deal around any of their lowest-paid players without a need for cutting or moving additional players.

Another intriguing option is New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson.

His excellent production — 9.6 points, 6.8 boards and 1.9 blocks over 22 minutes per game — on a four-year, $6.5 million deal means he’d likely require one of Boston’s better assets in addition to a quality player.

But as a non-shooting rim protector, able to provide much of what the Celtics need on the cheap, Robinson should be on Boston’s radar, given New York is going nowhere in a hurry.

It would likely be worth the squeeze should the front office decide to stockpile assets to use on a better-constructed roster in the future.

In fairness, though, there’s little to suggest a front office widely seen as among the NBA’s most dysfunctional would have the foresight for such a move.

Should the Detroit Pistons decide to throw the towel in on the season, or maybe even overhaul the roster, a call about forward Christian Wood could yield another player on a low salary with the skills Boston needs.

While not a lockdown defender, Wood has averaged just over a block per game while playing about 19 minutes per game.

The UNLV product can shoot quite well from deep, with a career percentage of .384, but does so rarely enough (1 attempt per game over his career) that it shouldn’t rock any boats, even opening space for drives.

Like the other names on this list, Wood makes little, at least for now, at $1.6 million on an expiring deal.

But with salary matching and available roster slots not being an issue for the team, convincing Detroit remains the issue.

While perhaps not requiring a premium asset to sweeten the deal, as long as the Pistons have a shot at the postseason, Detroit would likely pass on anything the Celtics could reasonably offer.

But at 10-15 a bit more than a quarter way through the season, its quite possible the team will wave the white flag in search of a solid draft pick well ahead of the February trade deadline.

It should be stressed that it’s far too early for a panic trade, even in the midst of a (two game) losing “streak”.

But, it never hurts to keep an eye on potential moves for the future, so long as any such moves make sense from both a fit and cap perspective.