Trade/Free Agency Thread 2023-24 – (Trade Deadline Feb. 8, 3PM, ET)

[ConstableGeneva]

Good article from Jay King on what Cs could/might do and their implications:

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Stevens’ history as a coach and executive shows how much he values locker room dynamics. With the Celtics on pace to win 65 games, he will likely want no part of a trade that could potentially rock the boat.

Stevens made his stance on that clear last season. After acquiring Mike Muscala at the deadline, Stevens said he wanted to find someone with “the ability to play” who wouldn’t “need to play.” In other words, Stevens wanted to look for a player who would be OK with receiving a smaller role but capable of filling a bigger role when necessary.

Expect Stevens to aim for similar fits at this deadline. The Celtics don’t need much. Their starting lineup might be the NBA’s best. At age 37, Al Horford remains more than capable as a sixth man. Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard have helped complete a better-than-advertised bench. Behind Horford, Luke Kornet has been solid, and Neemias Queta has been promising in limited minutes. Teams this good don’t normally make big changes at the deadline.

Celtics bench currently third in net rating, TS%, and rebounding %. Best in 3FG%. They don't score much 'cos they don't shoot much (2nd to last in FGAs/100 poss).

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

Going over all players fitting into the Grant TPE, these are the ones that could be available and worth the extra tax:

Likely requiring at least one 1st-round pick:

Saddiq Bey (ATL) - $4,556,983:
Given Jalen Johnson's emergence, Bey may be considered redundant for Hawks.

Lonnie Walker (BRK) - $2,019,706:
If the Nets realise that they should be sellers, they could get a 1st out of Walker's expiring contract.

Corey Kispert (WAS) - $3,722,040, $5,705,887:
It's doubtful the Wizards would trade a part of their young core, but could do it for more draft picks.

Nick Richards (CHA) - $5,000,000, $5,000,000, $5,000,000:
My favorite option. A real C, capable of putting a body on players like Embiid, Adebayo, and Jokic, on a bargain 3-year contract. Probably will cost only a late 1st.

Isaiah Jackson (IND) - $2,696,280, $4,435,381:
Unlikely to be available, but given the presence of Turner, Toppin, and Jalen Smith, the Pacers might consider trading him for the right price.

Santi Aldama (MEM) - $2,194,200, $3,960,531:
With Clark's return and assuming Memphis shifts focus from this season, Aldama might fall out of the rotation behind JJJ, Tillman, Biyombo, and Clark.

Precious Achiuwa (TOR) - $4,379,527:
Raptors should be sellers, so from their standpoint it's basically Achiuwa's bird rights for a 1st.

Other options, likely to cost some 2nds:
Day'Ron Sharpe (BRK) - $2,210,040, $3,989,122
Andre Drummond (CHI) - $3,360,000
Torrey Craig (CHI) - $2,528,233, $2,845,342
Dean Wade (CLE) - $5,709,877, $6,166,667, $6,623,456
Dwight Powell (DAL) - $4,000,000, $4,000,000, $4,000,000
Jordan Nwora (IND) - $3,000,000
John Konchar (MEM) - $2,400,000, $6,165,000, $6,165,000, $6,165,000
Xavier Tillman (MEM) - $1,930,681
Naji Marshall (NOP) - $1,930,681
Aaron Wiggins (OKC) - $1,836,096, $1,988,598
Kenrich Williams (OKC) - $6,175,000, $6,669,000, $7,163,000, $7,163,000
Julian Champagnie (SAS) - $3,000,000, $3,000,000 $3,000,000 $3,000,000
Simone Fontecchio (UTA) - $3,044,872

Really excellent summation - good job, I learned something.

[165bows]

Not too many of those fit the Muscala model - can play a little bit but don't need to play. Most of those younger guys won't be excited to come here and sit unless they don't have other good options.

Powell is probably the one guy but he's not that exciting and uncertain if he fills any need. Maybe also Craig and as discussed Konchar. But those are guys definitely more in the Muscala mold who seemed solid for a minute and then hasn't ever come back from what I believe was an ankle injury or something.

[JaMarco]

Celtics need two things:

Playoff Big.
Home/Away Playoff Scorer

They don’t need either of those things. The bench after your top two reserves don’t matter after the first round. Al is clearly going to play a lot in the playoffs, and Pritchard looks like he can be the backup ball handler. Bench scoring doesn’t matter when you always have at least two good scoring options on the court.


If the right deal comes along, sure. But the Celtics don’t need anything, they’re one of the more uniquely built teams we’ve ever seen, TBH.

I believe the Cs NEED a 3rd big that can shoot. They are playing with fire expecting KP/Al to play heavy minutes throughout the season and the playoffs. They need another guy they can rotate in with them to keep the minutes down and provide depth insurance.

[KillahGhostface]

Celtics need two things:

Playoff Big.
Home/Away Playoff Scorer

They don’t need either of those things. The bench after your top two reserves don’t matter after the first round. Al is clearly going to play a lot in the playoffs, and Pritchard looks like he can be the backup ball handler. Bench scoring doesn’t matter when you always have at least two good scoring options on the court.


If the right deal comes along, sure. But the Celtics don’t need anything, they’re one of the more uniquely built teams we’ve ever seen, TBH.

I believe the Cs NEED a 3rd big that can shoot. They are playing with fire expecting KP/Al to play heavy minutes throughout the season and the playoffs. They need another guy they can rotate in with them to keep the minutes down and provide depth insurance.

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[celtxman]

It's kinda silly to criticize Hauser for shooting just 33% in the playoffs when he only took 24 attempts. Had he made one more, it's 37.5%. Two more and it's 41.7%. Will we still talking about him not being a reliable shooter then?

He went 2/8 in the 7-game series that we lost to Miami. That's a little over one three per game. Guys who shot worse than him and took more 3s than him -- Brogdon (3/18), Brown (7/43), Tatum (11/47). Horford not too far off with his 8/29.

Hauser making two less threes than his norm won't make or break our postseason. If it does, then we've totally lost the plot.

In 2008 the Celtics won with important contributions from Sam Cassell and PJ Brown. If I wanted to waste my time I could find posts in this forum saying the same "why bother for the 15th man" type statements back then.
In Hauser's case we can blame Mazzulla or Hauser himself, but he did not come up big in the playoffs any way we want to rationalize it. It doesn't mean you do anything with his rotation. My plan was to add Olynyk because he can score efficiently and move the ball. He doesn’t necessarily have to use Hauser minutes.....but he could.
Sam Cassell wasn't brought in to replace Paul Pierce the championship year. But in a crucial Game 1 against Cleveland, a game that the Celtics eeked out a 4 point win, Paul Pierce played 29 minutes and Cassell took some of Pierce's minutes scored 13 points while Pierce was 2 for 14.
For me Hauser COULD be a problem if he isn't shooting well. Another shooter never hurts. I'm not sure what the resistance is. You get someone who helps you win ONE game in the playoffs its a homerun.

[BK_2020]

Cassell was 38 and washed up as hell. He shot 33% from the field and 21.4% from three in his 12 mpg, which is worse than Hauser's 34.5/33.3. Cassell more than likely hurt our title chances than help it over the course of the 21 games Doc Rivers put him in for his vetness.

[fallguy]

If you knew this team would stay healthy, you'd be fine with what we have. We have enough to win. But if you can get a back-of-rotation guy as insurance, you do it.

Relevant prediction: KP misses, on average, one out of every four playoff games. Or one full series if we play four.

[Hal14]

In 2008 the Celtics won with important contributions from Sam Cassell and PJ Brown. If I wanted to waste my time I could find posts in this forum saying the same "why bother for the 15th man" type statements back then.

Huh?

In Hauser's case we can blame Mazzulla or Hauser himself, but he did not come up big in the playoffs any way we want to rationalize it. It doesn't mean you do anything with his rotation.

What are you talking about? He didn't come up big in the playoffs? He was our 9th man in the playoffs last year. What can you (or any team) really expect from their 9th man in the playoffs? Not much.

He barely got any playing time. How was he supposed to come up big in the playoffs if the coach wouldn't put him in the game?

He was good on D in the Atlanta series:

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He hit some shots for us in the playoffs. He didn't score a ton of points but he was the 9th man for us - no 9th man is going to score a ton of points and if you're playing time is low/sporadic then of course your shooting percentages might be a little bit lower, especially if it's only your first time ever playing in the playoffs. He got the nerves out last season - this year it'll be his 2nd playoff run and his 3rd NBA season now..he's another year older so more likely to be able to know those shots down at a higher clip.

And like Constable said, you can't really look too deeply into his shooting percentages from last year's playoffs since it's such a small sample size of games/attempts.

Bottom line, Hauser is one of the best 3&D role players in the league. You look at his 3 NBA seasons, 1 season in G league, 4 yrs of college, every freaking season he shoots over 40% from 3. He's a high IQ player, good cutter, doesn't let the ball stick to him. Analytics love him..

[ConstableGeneva]

It's kinda silly to criticize Hauser for shooting just 33% in the playoffs when he only took 24 attempts. Had he made one more, it's 37.5%. Two more and it's 41.7%. Will we still talking about him not being a reliable shooter then?

He went 2/8 in the 7-game series that we lost to Miami. That's a little over one three per game. Guys who shot worse than him and took more 3s than him -- Brogdon (3/18), Brown (7/43), Tatum (11/47). Horford not too far off with his 8/29.

Hauser making two less threes than his norm won't make or break our postseason. If it does, then we've totally lost the plot.

In 2008 the Celtics won with important contributions from Sam Cassell and PJ Brown. If I wanted to waste my time I could find posts in this forum saying the same "why bother for the 15th man" type statements back then.
In Hauser's case we can blame Mazzulla or Hauser himself, but he did not come up big in the playoffs any way we want to rationalize it. It doesn't mean you do anything with his rotation. My plan was to add Olynyk because he can score efficiently and move the ball. He doesn’t necessarily have to use Hauser minutes.....but he could.
Sam Cassell wasn't brought in to replace Paul Pierce the championship year. But in a crucial Game 1 against Cleveland, a game that the Celtics eeked out a 4 point win, Paul Pierce played 29 minutes and Cassell took some of Pierce's minutes scored 13 points while Pierce was 2 for 14.
For me Hauser COULD be a problem if he isn't shooting well. Another shooter never hurts. I'm not sure what the resistance is. You get someone who helps you win ONE game in the playoffs its a homerun.

I'm not opposed to the idea of bringing in better players than what we currently have (12th-14th men). I even suggested names like Burks (via buyout), Wright (via buyout), and Kispert (via trade). I just find the idea of a 5-for-1 or 6-for-1 for Olynyk ridiculous and unrealistic. I'd take him for the minimum via buyout.

I will reiterate that our top 6 (or our top 2 moreso) will determine the final outcome of our playoff run. We can romanticize a 9th man hitting an early 4th quarter open jumper all we want, but it's up to our main guys to get the job done.

I also don't expect Joe to use anyone we bring in for the postseason UNLESS they're quick to pick up our offensive and defensive concepts (why vets are preferred) and/or we endure an injury one of our top 8 guys or during blowouts. Maybe they get 2nd quarter minutes here and there but not much more. Our starting five are going to play 34-40 mpg each. Horford up to 28-30. Hauser and Pritchard around 16-20. Not much left for anyone else.

We can also ignore the financial ramifications of adding a 12M guy + filling rest of roster but IF that affects ownership spending on guys like Jrue or White later on, I will lose it! So maybe Brad's green signal isn't all the way green.

[brackdan70]

Any interest in Nic Claxton? Great versatile defender. Would be a great third big for us

I'm sure every team in the league would want Nic Claxton. He's an all-NBA caliber defender. Limited on offense but so are guys like Time Lord, Clint Capela, Mitchell Robinson and Rudy Gobert. Claxton basically does what those guys do on offense - set screens, catch lobs, finish out of dunker's spot, run the floor in transition, get put-backs..Claxton has even showed some development lately with his face up game, taking his man off the dribble from elbows and high post/mid post areas.

He's the nets 2nd best player though, after Bridges. And he's only 24, on a team-friendly deal. He's not going anywhere, unless it's in a package where the nets are getting a legit star (top 25 type of player) in return..so we're not getting Claxton..

Probably mostly true, but he is a FA next year. He will cost some money for the Nets to keep him.

[celtxman]

Cassell was 38 and washed up as hell. He shot 33% from the field and 21.4% from three in his 12 mpg, which is worse than Hauser's 34.5/33.3. Cassell more than likely hurt our title chances than help it over the course of the 21 games Doc Rivers put him in for his vetness.

As Cassell got worse so did his minutes. They don't win Game 1(I'm assuming you watched it) without Cassell. They probably don't win the series without that win. They won that series by the skin of their teeth as it was. The final score of that game was 76-72. In the 4th quarter no one ever lead by more than 4 points. Cassell was 3/5 in the 4th quarter got 10 points including a big rebound that he got fouled on where he hit 2 free throws to make it 72-70 with 50 seconds left.
When you make a trade or get a buyout you are looking for needed contributions. In that Game 1, KG was great, and Cassell brought the game home -period. After that he really was not good until Game 1 of the Lakers series. But he more than served his purpose. So did PJBrown who hit that memorable basket in Game 7 against Cleveland.

[NotAKnicksFan]

Get Terry Rozier to be the 6th man

[Cuban Pete]

Queta was getting killed on the defensive boards tonight. He doesn't have the ability to box out against taller centers. That, and he's a foul waiting to happen (8.0 PF/100pos).

[JaMarco]

Queta was getting killed on the defensive boards tonight. He doesn't have the ability to box out against taller centers. That, and he's a foul waiting to happen (8.0 PF/100pos).

Yea he's not really any better than Kornet.

[Asian Celtic]

Does DWhite getting a max extension mean someone's gotta go(core guys)?

[Fierce1]

Does DWhite getting a max extension mean someone's gotta go(core guys)?

Horford's contract expires in 2025.

So if there's a core player going, it's Horford.

[ConstableGeneva]

Does DWhite getting a max extension mean someone's gotta go(core guys)?

Not necessarily. Will just depend on how deep the pockets of the owners are.

[165bows]

Realistically this team just isn’t as deep as last year. There were nights last year when they had current all-star candidate Derrick White on the bench as the seventh man behind 6MOTY Malcolm Brogdon.

Plus eight-figure man Grant Williams racked up DNPs (I know, I know).

Last year the concern was injuries and it ended up being the issue when Brogdon predictably came apart at the seams.

This year the health issues aren’t quite as glaring but are still relevant compared to most teams. The other issue is the bench guys are all specialists, something that was an issue across the board the last two years and ultimately brought about the team’s demise.

Long story short the PT issue is present but not nearly as big of an issue as last year. And they’ve improved their reliance on offensive specialists in the starting lineup but the bench still is chock full of them.

[Fierce1]

Brad will do the right thing.

We just have to be patient.