Free Agent/Trade/Waiver Thread, 2025-26

[Celts17Pride]

I don’t think they need to worry about finding minutes for Queta or whoever there are currently minutes galore at the C position.

Problem is both Queta and Garza will probably foul out by the start of the 4th. Might be up to Tillman and possibly Simmons.

The bright side is the Celtics are going to have a ton of scores like 130 to 122. Even though they will probably be the team with the 122 at least there will be scoring and it will be entertaining.

[165bows]

I don’t think they need to worry about finding minutes for Queta or whoever there are currently minutes galore at the C position.

Problem is both Queta and Garza will probably foul out by the start of the 4th. Might be up to Tillman and possibly Simmons.

The bright side is the Celtics are going to have a ton of scores like 130 to 122. Even though they will probably be the team with the 122 at least there will be scoring and it will be entertaining.

I think you are underestimating the sheer volume of three point attempts this team will put up.

JoeBall plus playing younger and more athletic and faster these guys are going to be 150-148 with 75 3PAs.

[Celts17Pride]

I don’t think they need to worry about finding minutes for Queta or whoever there are currently minutes galore at the C position.

Problem is both Queta and Garza will probably foul out by the start of the 4th. Might be up to Tillman and possibly Simmons.

The bright side is the Celtics are going to have a ton of scores like 130 to 122. Even though they will probably be the team with the 122 at least there will be scoring and it will be entertaining.

I think you are underestimating the sheer volume of three point attempts this team will put up.

JoeBall plus playing younger and more athletic and faster these guys are going to be 150-148 with 75 3PAs.

Games won't be that close, maybe 155 to 145. Celtics won't stop anyone. Get use to Charlotte scoring 130+ on the Celtics.

[165bows]

Problem is both Queta and Garza will probably foul out by the start of the 4th. Might be up to Tillman and possibly Simmons.

The bright side is the Celtics are going to have a ton of scores like 130 to 122. Even though they will probably be the team with the 122 at least there will be scoring and it will be entertaining.

I think you are underestimating the sheer volume of three point attempts this team will put up.

JoeBall plus playing younger and more athletic and faster these guys are going to be 150-148 with 75 3PAs.

Games won't be that close, maybe 155 to 145. Celtics won't stop anyone. Get use to Charlotte scoring 130+ on the Celtics.

Big thing to keep on eye on this year is when the Celtics become the first team in NBA history to obliterate 4k+ 3PAs.

First journo to steal this at least be a good little thief and send me some free tix you freeloaders.

[redslastlaugh]

I don’t think they need to worry about finding minutes for Queta or whoever there are currently minutes galore at the C position.

Problem is both Queta and Garza will probably foul out by the start of the 4th. Might be up to Tillman and possibly Simmons.

The bright side is the Celtics are going to have a ton of scores like 130 to 122. Even though they will probably be the team with the 122 at least there will be scoring and it will be entertaining.

I think you are underestimating the sheer volume of three point attempts this team will put up.

JoeBall plus playing younger and more athletic and faster these guys are going to be 150-148 with 75 3PAs.

Man, I don't doubt i that Joe is gonna want to get them up. But to me the approach became counter productive last year with the increase we saw in 2024-25 season over the 2023-24 season. I don't think 3pta are like a "more is always better" type of thing. I think it's more like a temperature thing, a Goldilocks thing: there is too hot, too cold and there is just right. Ya know, there is shooting too few threes, there's shooting the right amount of threes, and there is shooting too many

In 23-24 we shot 42 attempts, in 24-25 we shot 48 attempts. If our total 3pta per game goes up yet again, over last years 48 attempts, I don't think it's gonna be a good result and we'll be overshooting past the band of productivity for that strategy

[165bows]

Problem is both Queta and Garza will probably foul out by the start of the 4th. Might be up to Tillman and possibly Simmons.

The bright side is the Celtics are going to have a ton of scores like 130 to 122. Even though they will probably be the team with the 122 at least there will be scoring and it will be entertaining.

I think you are underestimating the sheer volume of three point attempts this team will put up.

JoeBall plus playing younger and more athletic and faster these guys are going to be 150-148 with 75 3PAs.

Man, I don't doubt i that Joe is gonna want to get them up. But to me the approach became counter productive last year with the increase we saw in 2024-25 season over the 2023-24 season. I don't think 3pta are like a "more is always better" type of thing. I think it's more like a temperature thing, a Goldilocks thing: there is too hot, too cold and there is just right. Ya know, there is not enough threes, there's the right amount of threes, and there is too much 3pt bombing

In 23-24 we shot 42 attempts, in 24-25 we shot 48 attempts. If our total 3pta per game goes up again over 48 attempts, I don't think it's gonna be a fun year and it's just going further in the wrong direction imo

Perhaps but worth noting they were dead last in pace last year which hopefully changes this year.

Ie rate could stay the same or even drop (looking over my shoulder in case Joe is trying to murder me) and the total will still go up (up UP!!).

[brackdan70]

I think y’all are underestimating the defense a fair bit. Queta, Minott, White, Brown are all solid defenders.
Walsh and Gonzales have high defensive potential.
Depends ultimately who Joe plays and how much but there are plenty of guys on this team capable of playing at a high level.

[Celts17Pride]

I think y’all are underestimating the defense a fair bit. Queta, Minott, White, Brown are all solid defenders.
Walsh and Gonzales have high defensive potential.
Depends ultimately who Joe plays and how much but there are plenty of guys on this team capable of playing at a high level.

Bottom 10 defense at best. Being real.

Pritchard, Hauer, Simons, Niang, Scheierman etc. will be a turnstile on the perimeter with Queta, Garza, Tillman offering rim protection? Please.

[GreenBlooded]

What you are basically saying is winning is not important this year. Not saying that is wrong or right. People just need to say it like it is. If the Celtics go into the season with Queta, Garza, A Wiliams and Tillman then they are telling the world their intent is to win as little games as possible. Again, I'm not saying that is wrong, just stop pretending for it to be something different.

To say Nikola Vucevic wouldn't help when you are throwing Queta, Garza, A Williams and Tillman out there is just ridiculous. It wouldn't help if your goal is to lose games. Again, I'm not saying that is wrong.

You're conflating "winning isn't important this year" with "their intent is to win as little games as possible". Those are not the same thing.

I agree they are different but the results will be similar. Brad Stevens knows throwing this team out there as currently constructed that they won't win many games. Celtics are too good to reach the bottom, but will easily be a play-in team. That's why Stevens won't add to this team and risk the play-in. You won't see Bassey, Vucevic or anyone else for that matter. Celtics with 100% effort will be a bottom 10 defense easily and may be bottom 5 defense.

I think your entire premise is flawed. Players are not being added to or subtracted from this roster to increase or decrease the win total for the 25-26 season. Hard stop. The roster this season is full of players who the Celtics front office believe can increase their value, or more correctly out play their perceived value. The result of this approach, at seasons end, should be a few guys step up, increase their value and who then slot in as rotational pieces going forward and/or tradable assets.

[Bad-Thoma]

I think y’all are underestimating the defense a fair bit. Queta, Minott, White, Brown are all solid defenders.
Walsh and Gonzales have high defensive potential.
Depends ultimately who Joe plays and how much but there are plenty of guys on this team capable of playing at a high level.

Bottom 10 defense at best. Being real.

Pritchard, Hauer, Simons, Niang, Scheierman etc. will be a turnstile on the perimeter with Queta, Garza, Tillman offering rim protection? Please.

I'd say more middle of the pack because if someone isn't putting in defensive effort I doubt Joe is going to play them. This is pure observational bias but I think the bottom half of teams defensively get there by not playing all that hard on that side of the ball. Also, Pritchard isn't a turnstile anymore, he has actually turned into a serviceable defender. You don't want him getting trapped inside against a taller player of course but he moves his feet well and is fairly strong.

[Hal14]

I think you are underestimating the sheer volume of three point attempts this team will put up.

JoeBall plus playing younger and more athletic and faster these guys are going to be 150-148 with 75 3PAs.

Games won't be that close, maybe 155 to 145. Celtics won't stop anyone. Get use to Charlotte scoring 130+ on the Celtics.

Big thing to keep on eye on this year is when the Celtics become the first team in NBA history to obliterate 4k+ 3PAs.

First journo to steal this at least be a good little thief and send me some free tix you freeloaders.

idk, our 3PA volume might be lower than last season.

-KP and Horford are out..both bigs who took lots of 3's. Replaced with Garza and Niang who take 3's but not as much as KP/Al
-Tatum out, Jrue gone..they took lots of 3's. Simons in who also takes lots of 3's but i don't see him taking more 3's than Tatum and Jrue. Plus filling some of that void is more mins for Walsh, Minott and Hugo who don't shoot 3's much
-More mins for Queta, a non-shooter..

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

It's a little late to be healthy...

Read on Twitter

[Celts17Pride]

It's a little late to be healthy...

Read on Twitter

Porzingis just giving the Atlanta Hawks false hope.

[165bows]

Games won't be that close, maybe 155 to 145. Celtics won't stop anyone. Get use to Charlotte scoring 130+ on the Celtics.

Big thing to keep on eye on this year is when the Celtics become the first team in NBA history to obliterate 4k+ 3PAs.

First journo to steal this at least be a good little thief and send me some free tix you freeloaders.

idk, our 3PA volume might be lower than last season.

-KP and Horford are out..both bigs who took lots of 3's. Replaced with Garza and Niang who take 3's but not as much as KP/Al
-Tatum out, Jrue gone..they took lots of 3's. Simons in who also takes lots of 3's but i don't see him taking more 3's than Tatum and Jrue. Plus filling some of that void is more mins for Walsh, Minott and Hugo who don't shoot 3's much
-More mins for Queta, a non-shooter..

Feeling pretty confident they drop the all time 3PA record with ease actually.

[Hal14]

I think y’all are underestimating the defense a fair bit. Queta, Minott, White, Brown are all solid defenders.
Walsh and Gonzales have high defensive potential.
Depends ultimately who Joe plays and how much but there are plenty of guys on this team capable of playing at a high level.

Bottom 10 defense at best. Being real.

Pritchard, Hauer, Simons, Niang, Scheierman etc. will be a turnstile on the perimeter with Queta, Garza, Tillman offering rim protection? Please.

Queta is a decent rim protector. Hauser and Pritchard are respectable defenders. We don't know how much Scheierman is going to play. Niang isn't that bad on D..looks like he's slimmed down a bit and got in better shape now too..

Simons could be better on D now that he's on a better team, a team where he doesn't have to use all of his energy up by having to carry the offense.

You're just being overly negative.

The guys who will play the most mins for us are both good defenders (JB, white)..1 of them is an all-defense player.

Also, if the defense is bad, who cares? We get a better draft pick.

Lastly, these conversations seem premature. There could still be more moves made this summer. For all we know, Simons will be gone and either Claxton or Ben Simmons will be added, which would mean a better defense..

[Celts17Pride]

I think y’all are underestimating the defense a fair bit. Queta, Minott, White, Brown are all solid defenders.
Walsh and Gonzales have high defensive potential.
Depends ultimately who Joe plays and how much but there are plenty of guys on this team capable of playing at a high level.

Bottom 10 defense at best. Being real.

Pritchard, Hauer, Simons, Niang, Scheierman etc. will be a turnstile on the perimeter with Queta, Garza, Tillman offering rim protection? Please.

Queta is a decent rim protector. Hauser and Pritchard are respectable defenders. We don't know how much Scheierman is going to play. Niang isn't that bad on D..looks like he's slimmed down a bit and got in better shape now too..

Simons could be better on D now that he's on a better team, a team where he doesn't have to use all of his energy up by having to carry the offense.

You're just being overly negative.

The guys who will play the most mins for us are both good defenders (JB, white)..1 of them is an all-defense player.

Also, if the defense is bad, who cares? We get a better draft pick.

Lastly, these conversations seem premature. There could still be more moves made this summer. For all we know, Simons will be gone and either Claxton or Ben Simmons will be added, which would mean a better defense..

I'm being real, the Celtics front court is historically bad with a lot of poor defenders at the wing position. Sorry I'm not drinking the green kool-aid.

[Half-Full]

I think y’all are underestimating the defense a fair bit. Queta, Minott, White, Brown are all solid defenders.
Walsh and Gonzales have high defensive potential.
Depends ultimately who Joe plays and how much but there are plenty of guys on this team capable of playing at a high level.

If Tillman remains with the team, and is healthy, he can defend. Hauser, while not a lock down defender, is capable. Pritchard too.

[31to6]

Re: centers, do any of us like 26yo Nic Claxton?
Me: not really
My guess is Brad could have traded Simons for him by now -- perhaps with pick(s) going out -- if he wanted to. But might as well see if Queta can be a comparable player for free first.

[redslastlaugh]

Re: centers, do any of us like 26yo Nic Claxton?
Me: not really
My guess is Brad could have traded Simons for him by now -- perhaps with pick(s) going out -- if he wanted to. But might as well see if Queta can be a comparable player for free first.

Nic Claxton really stunk last year. Even at his best, he's a hack-a-shaq FT liability and just really light for a center. Claxton didn't even weigh 220 pounds at the draft combine when he was coming out in 2019. Recently NBA officiating has been allowing more physicality, and I personally do not see how Claxton holds his spot against a Jokic or Mitchell Robinson or Embiid or Edey or Hartenstein under playoff officiating

[brackdan70]

Bottom 10 defense at best. Being real.

Pritchard, Hauer, Simons, Niang, Scheierman etc. will be a turnstile on the perimeter with Queta, Garza, Tillman offering rim protection? Please.

Queta is a decent rim protector. Hauser and Pritchard are respectable defenders. We don't know how much Scheierman is going to play. Niang isn't that bad on D..looks like he's slimmed down a bit and got in better shape now too..

Simons could be better on D now that he's on a better team, a team where he doesn't have to use all of his energy up by having to carry the offense.

You're just being overly negative.

The guys who will play the most mins for us are both good defenders (JB, white)..1 of them is an all-defense player.

Also, if the defense is bad, who cares? We get a better draft pick.

Lastly, these conversations seem premature. There could still be more moves made this summer. For all we know, Simons will be gone and either Claxton or Ben Simmons will be added, which would mean a better defense..

I'm being real, the Celtics front court is historically bad with a lot of poor defenders at the wing position. Sorry I'm not drinking the green kool-aid.

It seems more like Hyperbole than being real, but you may end up being right…there is always a chance. Who are all these poor wing defenders? I know Simons has not been good in the past but he does have the tools. There is Scheierman as well, but that’s all the “poor” wing defenders I see.