Free Agent/Trade/Waiver Thread, 2025-26, part 2

[redslastlaugh]

I think Pritchard for Tari Eason works. Sure Eason adds to our glut of wings but he'd be good here. And FWIW, I add an unpopular opinion:

Love Payton Pritchard but I think his days are numbered. Brad just doesn't like small guards. He has NEVER liked them. He likes his ballhandlers bigger. 6'3 with long wingspan or taller. Take a look at the guys Brad has gone after:

I agree that Brad doesn't like small guards. I wonder if he always felt that way or trying to win postseason games with IT (and Kemba Walker) triggered the frustration, but he clearly doesn't like them...

But Payton's playoff performance was strong last year, we had a better net rating when he was on the floor. So maybe Pritchard's play has earned an exemption from Brad on the sm guard issue?

The real issue is financial. Payton is signed for $8 million this yr and then $8/per for the two years after this... that's hard to beat, especially bc Tari Eason hasn't signed an extension, but once he does, next season is the start of his pay raise.

Eason probably extends for $15 - $25/per which is a problem for our budget with two Jays salaries. An even bigger problem, is if Eason gets JT's minutes and blows up his market could be even bigger and a capspace team could offer $30 million starting salary, Brad can't match and we lose him

[bucknersrevenge]

I think Pritchard for Tari Eason works. Sure Eason adds to our glut of wings but he'd be good here. And FWIW, I add an unpopular opinion:

Love Payton Pritchard but I think his days are numbered. Brad just doesn't like small guards. He has NEVER liked them. He likes his ballhandlers bigger. 6'3 with long wingspan or taller. Take a look at the guys Brad has gone after:

I agree that Brad doesn't like small guards. I wonder if he always felt that way or trying to win postseason games with IT (and Kemba Walker) triggered the frustration, but he clearly doesn't like them...

But Payton's playoff performance last year strong, we were a better net rating when he was on the floor. So maybe Pritchard's play has earned an exemption from Brad on the sm guard issue?

The real issue is financial. Payton is signed for $8 million for yr and then $8/per for the two years after this... that's hard to beat, especially bc Tari Eason hasn't signed an extension, but once he does next season is the start of his pay raise. Eason probably re-signs for $15 - $25 million and that's a real problem, because his market could be bigger with a big year, and then Celts are kind of screwed, especially if BRK tenders an offers for $30 per year and Brad has to let him walk...

Shephard then? Big guard. Cost controlled?

[redslastlaugh]

Shephard then? Big guard. Cost controlled?

They have Aaron Holiday and Sheppard I think as their only ballhandlers with FVV out. They probably want to keep both of them and add another point guard in addition.

We are starting to get into theoretical Derrick White territory. If it's Reed Sheppard, FVV, for White and Pritchard or White and Hauser ... in that case H-Town gotta be throwing in multiple firsts, but I don't know if Brad wants to go that route, just for picks... unless he really likes Sheppard, who was a 3rd overall pick, but in a crap draft and Reed has looked only okay so far

But I think Houston only including sheppard for a bigtime proven guard, if they'd even be interested at all, probably take the first 6 weeks of the regular season to see how it looks. I have to remember Sengun handles much of the playmaking there too

[brackdan70]

I think Pritchard for Tari Eason works. Sure Eason adds to our glut of wings but he'd be good here. And FWIW, I add an unpopular opinion:

Love Payton Pritchard but I think his days are numbered. Brad just doesn't like small guards. He has NEVER liked them. He likes his ballhandlers bigger. 6'3 with long wingspan or taller. Take a look at the guys Brad has gone after:

I agree that Brad doesn't like small guards. I wonder if he always felt that way or trying to win postseason games with IT (and Kemba Walker) triggered the frustration, but he clearly doesn't like them...

But Payton's playoff performance last year strong, we were a better net rating when he was on the floor. So maybe Pritchard's play has earned an exemption from Brad on the sm guard issue?

The real issue is financial. Payton is signed for $8 million for yr and then $8/per for the two years after this... that's hard to beat, especially bc Tari Eason hasn't signed an extension, but once he does next season is the start of his pay raise. Eason probably re-signs for $15 - $25 million and that's a real problem, because his market could be bigger with a big year, and then Celts are kind of screwed, especially if BRK tenders an offers for $30 per year and Brad has to let him walk...

Shephard then? Big guard. Cost controlled?

Shepard is smaller than Pritchard and significantly more expensive and I think Payton is his ceiling.
I’d like Eason much more but Reds LL pointed out the challenges there.

[cl2117]

Yeah, I can't see what the Tanking Fetish is? = Tatum will be back, if not this Season, then the next.
We also have Brown, White & Pritchard, among others. Why would the Players Tank?

Why would the Team Tank, for that matter? Tanking is a last resort, when you have no hope on the horizon.
We make the Playoffs, even without Tatum. We Tank, and All our good Players will want Out.

Edit:
Some Teams use the Tank option, because they have too; they have no resources.
We're the Celtics. We have 18 Banners. You don't do that by accident.

Mavericks were in WCF, but then the next year tanked, got Lively with 10th pick, then made the NBA finals, then tanked and drafted Flagg no. 1 pick. They're literally on like a cycle where they go DEEP in playoffs 1 year, tank for a high draft pick the next, then content the next year, it's working beautifully so far.

Spurs were in the playoffs, then tanked, got Tim Duncan and won 5 titles.

Sixers made playoffs, tanked and then got VJ with the 3rd pick.

Hawks were in the play-in but missed playoffs, won lottery and got a good young player in Risacher.

Thunder had SGA but tanked, got Jalen Williams..then tanked, got Chet...then won a title and could be on the verge of a dynasty.

Rockets tanked, then got Sengun, Amen and Jabari. also got Jalen Green who they flipped for KD.

Pistons tanked, got Cade, Ausar, Ivey, Duren.

Cavs tanked, got Garland and Mobley..traded for Allen and Mitchell.

Orlando tanked, got Paolo, Franz, Suggs.

Do people still not understand the benefit of tanking?

The best outcome of an NBA season? Winning the title. The 2nd best outcome? Getting a high draft pick to improve your odds of winning the title the next year.

What gives you better odds for a title the following season?
Scenario A: fall short of title, get 18th pick
Scenario B: fall short of title, get 1st pick

Give me scenario B all day long, especially when the 2026 draft has 3 guys at the top who could be top 10 players in the league.

What you're saying is not wrong, but both Brad and Joe don't tank.

So even if the Cs end up having a mediocre season, they still won't come close to having a lottery pick.

The roster and the system are just too good to fail.

The last time the C's tanked it was Brad's first year on the bench. That landed us Marcus with the 6th pick. We then got the benefit back to back years of Brooklyn tanking for us and landed the #3 and #1 picks respectively and turned them into the Jays. Brad of all people knows the benefits of building around high draft picks and the impact they can have for the team.

I doubt Brad had any say in tanking in that first year, we were rocking the remnants of what was a last gasp attempt at a Big 3 Championship so it was always going to be that way, but he definitely would appreciate the benefits of tanking. Joe I don't expect to be on board with tanking in any fashion but I'm sure even he can appreciate the impact of landing a lotto pick for team building purposes, especially in the 2nd apron era.

We should stop even using the word "tank" and instead talk about "development". This is a year to focus on building back-up a foundation whereby we put ourselves in a position to compete with the OKC's of the world. If we get greedy in the short-term we're short-changing ourselves for the period when we have more than a Cinderella story chance at winning it all. If we focus on developing the guys we have (both rookie scale and veteran) and put them in positions where they can potentially elevate their games and improve our supporting cast for when we've got a fully healthy JT and an off-season to make moves for KP/Jrue-esque running mates, it will be a successful year no matter the outcome in the standings or lottery.

Brad I trust to make moves that he sees as beneficial for our future, even if that means getting worse in the shrot-term (as is evidenced by the "necessary evil" KP/Jrue trades this summer ).

Joe I hope is a good enough coach that he can pivot from putting his foot to the floor in a Ferrari to developing guys who aren't exactly roadworthy yet and don't necessarily deserve the minutes they'll need to develop. If he can't then he's not a good coach. You can't just be a coach for when you're in pole position to win it all, you've got to be able to handle the whole lifecycle of an NBA team because the league is now designed to try to keep you from hanging at the top of the pyramid. Push to win as much as possible but within the construct of a developmental mindset where you might give Baylor/Hugo/Walsh & co. minutes they might not necessarily deserve but definitely need if they have a chance to elevate. If they play well enough that it blows up any chance of a lottery pick well then that's a win in and of itself.

I'd rather sign up to a 1/1000 shot at a championship next year with a 1/100 odds at winning the lottery (and a guaranteed top 14 pick) vs. a 1/100 chance at winning it all and 0% chance of a lottery pick. I'm not rooting against the Celtics by any means but I'd rather be pragmatic about our chances rather than unrealistic.

[Fierce1]

The last time the C's tanked it was Brad's first year on the bench. That landed us Marcus with the 6th pick. We then got the benefit back to back years of Brooklyn tanking for us and landed the #3 and #1 picks respectively and turned them into the Jays. Brad of all people knows the benefits of building around high draft picks and the impact they can have for the team.

Even Brad's 1st year wasn't really a tank.

They won too many games and to think Jeff Green was the #1 option.

That 2013-14 Cs team should have gotten a top 4 or top 3 pick.

[Fierce1]

FVV can't be traded until Dec. 15.

A lot can happen from now until Dec. 15.

Training camp is next week, so I don't think Brad will be doing anymore trades any time soon.

[tfribs45]

now PP's getting traded lol, this off-season's been like a Root Canal!

[Fierce1]

now PP's getting traded lol, this off-season's been like a Root Canal!

At PP's salary, he's the ultimate bang for your buck off the bench guy.

Brad's not trading him, regardless of his size.

[bucknersrevenge]

I agree that Brad doesn't like small guards. I wonder if he always felt that way or trying to win postseason games with IT (and Kemba Walker) triggered the frustration, but he clearly doesn't like them...

But Payton's playoff performance last year strong, we were a better net rating when he was on the floor. So maybe Pritchard's play has earned an exemption from Brad on the sm guard issue?

The real issue is financial. Payton is signed for $8 million for yr and then $8/per for the two years after this... that's hard to beat, especially bc Tari Eason hasn't signed an extension, but once he does next season is the start of his pay raise. Eason probably re-signs for $15 - $25 million and that's a real problem, because his market could be bigger with a big year, and then Celts are kind of screwed, especially if BRK tenders an offers for $30 per year and Brad has to let him walk...

Shephard then? Big guard. Cost controlled?

Shepard is smaller than Pritchard and significantly more expensive and I think Payton is his ceiling.
I’d like Eason much more but Reds LL pointed out the challenges there.

ESPN lists him as 6'2 but still. Not sure where the hell I got the impression that he was a bigger guard. He's clearly not. Thank you for correcting me. Scrap this whole line of questioning from the record please.

[brackdan70]

Shephard then? Big guard. Cost controlled?

Shepard is smaller than Pritchard and significantly more expensive and I think Payton is his ceiling.
I’d like Eason much more but Reds LL pointed out the challenges there.

ESPN lists him as 6'2 but still. Not sure where the hell I got the impression that he was a bigger guard. He's clearly not. Thank you for correcting me. Scrap this whole line of questioning from the record please.

Yeah. Pritchard actually is longer with a better standing reach and about 15-20 pounds more muscle.

[Fierce1]

And Sheppard is bad on defense, that's why Ime does not play him.

PP and Simons are all better than Sheppard.

[Hal14]

Shepard is smaller than Pritchard and significantly more expensive and I think Payton is his ceiling.
I’d like Eason much more but Reds LL pointed out the challenges there.

ESPN lists him as 6'2 but still. Not sure where the hell I got the impression that he was a bigger guard. He's clearly not. Thank you for correcting me. Scrap this whole line of questioning from the record please.

Yeah. Pritchard actually is longer with a better standing reach and about 15-20 pounds more muscle.

Sheppard is about an inch taller though and has a 42" vertical leap. Had really high blk% in college for a guard so plays bigger than listed height.

[djFan71]

Mavericks were in WCF, but then the next year tanked, got Lively with 10th pick, then made the NBA finals, then tanked and drafted Flagg no. 1 pick. They're literally on like a cycle where they go DEEP in playoffs 1 year, tank for a high draft pick the next, then content the next year, it's working beautifully so far.

Spurs were in the playoffs, then tanked, got Tim Duncan and won 5 titles.

Sixers made playoffs, tanked and then got VJ with the 3rd pick.

Hawks were in the play-in but missed playoffs, won lottery and got a good young player in Risacher.

Thunder had SGA but tanked, got Jalen Williams..then tanked, got Chet...then won a title and could be on the verge of a dynasty.

Rockets tanked, then got Sengun, Amen and Jabari. also got Jalen Green who they flipped for KD.

Pistons tanked, got Cade, Ausar, Ivey, Duren.

Cavs tanked, got Garland and Mobley..traded for Allen and Mitchell.

Orlando tanked, got Paolo, Franz, Suggs.

Do people still not understand the benefit of tanking?

The best outcome of an NBA season? Winning the title. The 2nd best outcome? Getting a high draft pick to improve your odds of winning the title the next year.

What gives you better odds for a title the following season?
Scenario A: fall short of title, get 18th pick
Scenario B: fall short of title, get 1st pick

Give me scenario B all day long, especially when the 2026 draft has 3 guys at the top who could be top 10 players in the league.

What you're saying is not wrong, but both Brad and Joe don't tank.

So even if the Cs end up having a mediocre season, they still won't come close to having a lottery pick.

The roster and the system are just too good to fail.

The last time the C's tanked it was Brad's first year on the bench. That landed us Marcus with the 6th pick. We then got the benefit back to back years of Brooklyn tanking for us and landed the #3 and #1 picks respectively and turned them into the Jays. Brad of all people knows the benefits of building around high draft picks and the impact they can have for the team.

I doubt Brad had any say in tanking in that first year, we were rocking the remnants of what was a last gasp attempt at a Big 3 Championship so it was always going to be that way, but he definitely would appreciate the benefits of tanking. Joe I don't expect to be on board with tanking in any fashion but I'm sure even he can appreciate the impact of landing a lotto pick for team building purposes, especially in the 2nd apron era.

We should stop even using the word "tank" and instead talk about "development". This is a year to focus on building back-up a foundation whereby we put ourselves in a position to compete with the OKC's of the world. If we get greedy in the short-term we're short-changing ourselves for the period when we have more than a Cinderella story chance at winning it all. If we focus on developing the guys we have (both rookie scale and veteran) and put them in positions where they can potentially elevate their games and improve our supporting cast for when we've got a fully healthy JT and an off-season to make moves for KP/Jrue-esque running mates, it will be a successful year no matter the outcome in the standings or lottery.

Brad I trust to make moves that he sees as beneficial for our future, even if that means getting worse in the shrot-term (as is evidenced by the "necessary evil" KP/Jrue trades this summer ).

Joe I hope is a good enough coach that he can pivot from putting his foot to the floor in a Ferrari to developing guys who aren't exactly roadworthy yet and don't necessarily deserve the minutes they'll need to develop. If he can't then he's not a good coach. You can't just be a coach for when you're in pole position to win it all, you've got to be able to handle the whole lifecycle of an NBA team because the league is now designed to try to keep you from hanging at the top of the pyramid. Push to win as much as possible but within the construct of a developmental mindset where you might give Baylor/Hugo/Walsh & co. minutes they might not necessarily deserve but definitely need if they have a chance to elevate. If they play well enough that it blows up any chance of a lottery pick well then that's a win in and of itself.

I'd rather sign up to a 1/1000 shot at a championship next year with a 1/100 odds at winning the lottery (and a guaranteed top 14 pick) vs. a 1/100 chance at winning it all and 0% chance of a lottery pick. I'm not rooting against the Celtics by any means but I'd rather be pragmatic about our chances rather than unrealistic.

Agree with all this. The bold is what I've been focusing on. We gotta figure out who can augment the core when JT is back. There are some intriguing options, but we gotta play them to figure it out. If that leads to less wins this season / better pick, so be it, but that's not the main goal.

If this season results in Queta being a legit stater, or one or two of the Walsh, Baylor, Hugo, Minott, Garza pack proving they're rotation worthy, that's big. Or if Hauser expands his dribble game, or Simons (if he's here, TM) expanding his off-ball offense and getting average on D and somehow resigning cheap. Those types of outcomes are what I'm looking for. Do that while winning as much as we can.

[djFan71]

Shephard then? Big guard. Cost controlled?

They have Aaron Holiday and Sheppard I think as their only ballhandlers with FVV out. They probably want to keep both of them and add another point guard in addition.

We are starting to get into theoretical Derrick White territory. If it's Reed Sheppard, FVV, for White and Pritchard or White and Hauser ... in that case H-Town gotta be throwing in multiple firsts, but I don't know if Brad wants to go that route, just for picks... unless he really likes Sheppard, who was a 3rd overall pick, but in a crap draft and Reed has looked only okay so far

But I think Houston only including sheppard for a bigtime proven guard, if they'd even be interested at all, probably take the first 6 weeks of the regular season to see how it looks. I have to remember Sengun handles much of the playmaking there too

I don't see White, but I wonder if you scale it back to your original Simons idea. A basis of:

Simons to HOU
FVV + small $ filler & pick to UTAH
Nurk to BOS - maybe a 2nd as well?

HOU tries a vet min (Russ?) and Sheppard for a few months til FVV is trade eligible. If things don't look great, they don't waste a year of KD and get someone in. Jrue makes more sense, but POR may not be willing to part with him if they're doing well.

We could re-flip Nurk at the deadline and duck the tax, probably pick up another 2nd.

[Shak_Celts]

This is about as nicely as I can say this, believe me, I’m not even quoting anyone!


The hell “you” mean trade Pritchard?!! He’s as perfect a 6th man scorer as you’re going to get @7m only!!!!! Just because I don’t want him to start doesn’t mean I want him traded for terrible reasons!!! He doesn’t make any money!!!!!

When he is up for new money, IF WE ARE FORCED to send him out, we can get a lot more from whatever we S&T him for!!!!! It’s certainly going to be more than the pennies he’s making now!!

Why are we like this???!!!!!!

[djFan71]

This is about as nicely as I can say this, believe me, I’m not even quoting anyone!


The hell “you” mean trade Pritchard?!! He’s as perfect a 6th man scorer as you’re going to get @7m only!!!!! Just because I don’t want him to start doesn’t mean I want him traded for terrible reasons!!! He doesn’t make any money!!!!!

When he is up for new money, IF WE ARE FORCED to send him out, we can get a lot more from whatever we S&T him for!!!!! It’s certainly going to be more than the pennies he’s making now!!

Why are we like this???!!!!!!

We can only trade the players that are currently on the team, lol. So, if you like exploring trade ideas, you eventually gotta fake ship them all out!

[bucknersrevenge]

This is about as nicely as I can say this, believe me, I’m not even quoting anyone!


The hell “you” mean trade Pritchard?!! He’s as perfect a 6th man scorer as you’re going to get @7m only!!!!! Just because I don’t want him to start doesn’t mean I want him traded for terrible reasons!!! He doesn’t make any money!!!!!

When he is up for new money, IF WE ARE FORCED to send him out, we can get a lot more from whatever we S&T him for!!!!! It’s certainly going to be more than the pennies he’s making now!!

Why are we like this???!!!!!!

I'm sorry Shak. I know I'm responsible for this. I don't see Pritchard getting moved this year at all to be clear. I just know that Brad has a type when it comes to his ballhandlers. PP has 3 more years on his deal and who knows, he may play them out here. But I don't see Brad paying for his next deal. And if other bigger guards like Scheierman for example, prove to be productive, then it creates options for Brad

[GreenBlooded]

We'll see how Houston plays without FVV, but they are in a win now situation and could put an intriguing, godfather like offer together for DWhite

[Shak_Celts]

This is about as nicely as I can say this, believe me, I’m not even quoting anyone!


The hell “you” mean trade Pritchard?!! He’s as perfect a 6th man scorer as you’re going to get @7m only!!!!! Just because I don’t want him to start doesn’t mean I want him traded for terrible reasons!!! He doesn’t make any money!!!!!

When he is up for new money, IF WE ARE FORCED to send him out, we can get a lot more from whatever we S&T him for!!!!! It’s certainly going to be more than the pennies he’s making now!!

Why are we like this???!!!!!!

I'm sorry Shak. I know I'm responsible for this. I don't see Pritchard getting moved this year at all to be clear. I just know that Brad has a type when it comes to his ballhandlers. PP has 3 more years on his deal and who knows, he may play them out here. But I don't see Brad paying for his next deal. And if other bigger guards like Scheierman for example, prove to be productive, then it creates options for Brad

Y’all couldn’t even wait til his pick value is worth top 10 after this season? Sending him for what the Rockets could give is poopoo. If he must be traded on this penny contract, can the ideas at least wait until this season where that value is about to skyrocket?! I don’t want anything the rockets have that could match Prichard’s money! He’s already valuable, but he’s going to have all the freedom he handle this season to raise it much higher!


Yes, I’m salty because I don’t want him traded, but I’m more confused by the timing. Rockets don’t have anything better than 6MOY, big sack , small stack (7m?), Pritch! Unless their pick could be top 10… I don’t even know if they have a pick tbh.