Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have cemented themselves as two of the best, young talents in the NBA, but the Boston Celtics have really struggled during the first half of this season.
Injuries and the rotations constantly changing have definitely played a role in their struggles to this point, but the biggest problem is that the Eastern Conference improved drastically in the offseason and the Celtics did not.
Josh Richardson, Dennis Schroder, and Al Horford were all big offseason acquisitions by this team and all three players have played well, but inconsistency amongst them and the rest of the roster around Tatum and Brown has been significant.
Boston is going to have to make some kind of a change at the trade deadline and sources have told NBA Analysis Network that the Celtics will be looking to add another wing scorer that can complement the play of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on the perimeter.
Not only do they have numerous draft picks and young talents that could be leveraged in an effort to improve their roster, but the Celtics already appear to be gearing up for some kind of significant trade.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Celtics’ Dennis Schroder To Be Moved At NBA Trade Deadline?
On Tuesday night, the Celtics finalized a three-team deal with the San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets that resulted in them trading Juancho Hernangomez to the Spurs in exchange for Bol Bol and P.J. Dozier from the Nuggets. Bryn Forbes was also traded to Denver from San Antonio in exchange for a future second-round pick.
Both Bol Bol and P.J. Dozier are injured, but they are in the final years of their contracts and the Celtics now hold the rights to both of them entering free agency. Not to mention, the Celtics absorbed both of their current contracts using a $5M TPE they already had and now create a $6.1M TPE for themselves because of Hernangomez going to San Antonio.
Getting below the luxury tax on the season is an essential move for Brad Stevens and Boston’s front office, but the job is far from done. The Celtics now have a $17.1M TPE, a $9.7M TPE, and a $6.1M TPE that they can utilize at the trade deadline this season, giving them plenty of options on who they can add on the wing.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Celtics’ Dennis Schroder To Be Moved At NBA Trade Deadline?
Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Josh Richardson, and Dennis Schroder remain possible assets for this team to trade away, but having so many trade exceptions, they may not have to try and dump salaries to acquire new players.
Boston’s $17.1M TPE gives them plenty of possible trade targets around the league, but Magic’s Terrence Ross, Clippers’ Marcus Morris, and Blazers’ Robert Covington have been mentioned to NBA Analysis Network as three potential targets for the Celtics.
Veterans Jeff Green (Nuggets) and Justin Holiday (Pacers) are also worth keeping an eye on due to the Celtics’ having smaller trade exceptions and the fact that both players’ values are much lower than the three players mentioned above.
The Celtics’ bench currently ranks 28th in the NBA in scoring and with the inconsistencies that Smart and others a part of the Celtics’ core have been having on offense, it would make a lot of sense for Boston to try to add another key scoring weapon.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Celtics’ Dennis Schroder To Be Moved At NBA Trade Deadline?
They are currently the 10-seed in the Eastern Conference with a 23-22 record, but the Celtics are only 5.5 games back from first-place. The East is loaded with talented teams this season, which is why Boston needs to try and utilize all of their trade exceptions if they are to be real playoff contenders.
Time will tell what Stevens and the Celtics’ front-office has planned, but this three-team trade agreed upon Tuesday night is very telling of Boston’s urge to add talent around Tatum and Brown at the trade deadline.
