Boston Celtics Trade Deadline Q&A: Big Man Targets & An Under-Discussed Trade Tool

I’ll be doing regular Q&A’s here on SI and on my Locked On Celtics podcast. You can submit questions at JohnKaralis.com/mailbag and those questions will be answered in one of those two places. Today’s mailbag will answer some trade deadline questions.

Questions may be edited for clarity and length.

If we can find a way to move Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher, two cheaper big men with higher ceilings are Mo Bamba and/or James Wiseman. What are your thoughts? I want to keep Anfernee Simons as well. I see him replacing Derrick White as a starter in a year. White could be a nice trade chip to a young team needing leadership. - Jeff C.

On one hand, Bamba and Wiseman do nothing for me. If the Celtics decide they want to replace two guys who don’t play with two guys who might not play, then that's fine with me.

The league is full of teams who could use help at the center spot, but Bamba is still in the G League and Wiseman is out of the NBA entirely. I know the Celtics are good at developing centers, but I think this would be too much to ask of them.

Also, keep in mind what this would do to the locker room. You have to be careful of who you add.

As for Derrick White, I think there will be a time and place for White to be moved, but I don’t think now is the time. I’m on board with keeping Simons, but still as a backup. I think he’s great as a sixth man. I’m not sure if that's a role he wants, but if he wants to win a championship, sticking around in Boston and accepting that role is his best chance to do it while making good money. White is too good at too many things to move on right now.

Would you trade Simons for Jusuf Nurkic to get under the first apron? - Andrew C.

If the directive was to trade Simons to save money this season, then I would consider it. I included Jusuf Nurkic in my under-the-radar trades list, mostly because he’s putting a lot together right now for the Utah Jazz.

However, the Celtics are not under a mandate to get under the first apron, nor are they under a mandate to get under the tax. I’m not thrilled with the trade-off of Nurk for Simons, so I’m going to say no since I wouldn’t have to.

I think there's some theoretical stuff with Nurkic that sounds good but in practice, on this team, I’m not sure that it would translate. I admit, though, that I might be a prisoner of the moment in wanting the Celtics to go a different direction to shore up the center spot while keeping Simons as the sixth man.

I read that the Kings are open to trading Domantas Sabonis. Is there any chance Brad could bring him to Boston, or is that too much 2nd cap nonsense again to add a big name and keep the J's? - Chris J.

SO MUCH NONSENSE! Sabonis makes $42.3 million and has two more years left on his deal, so it’s much more difficult to get him. This isn’t a straight Simons swap. It would either require at least two more players, and there are aprons involved with both sides. This would likely involve three teams, and now we’re getting into a level of difficulty that is just too much.

I like Sabonis, and I think he’d help make this offense into something even greater than it is right now, but there are too many defensive issues, and it’s too difficult to get him without creating holes in the roster and financial issues.

Since Milwaukee is about to blow it up after this season and the Celtics will be healthy again and ready for a hard championship push after this season, do you think Myles Turner will be a good fit and someone Brad should keep an eye and ear on? - Dell M.

He was the first guy on my list of outside-the-box possibilities for this exact reason. Then he went out and was terrible against Boston on Sunday afternoon.

The reasons to consider it are (a) it works as a straight trade, (b) his skills fit what Boston needs, and (c) he fits in the championship timeline.

The money works in a one-for-one deal, so it’s easy to negotiate from there. The Celtics also need a big shot-blocker who can stretch a defense, and at 29, he’s the same age as Jaylen Brown.

There are a lot of plusses in this scenario. Playing him next to Brown and Jayson Tatum could give him the space he needs to play his best basketball, and Boston’s development and teaching could unlock something that's been missing.

Turner is a guy we can talk ourselves into. At the same time, he’s been on the trade block every year of his career for a reason. The theoretical doesn’t always translate to actual with Turner, but he could be a reasonable facsimile of Kristaps Porzingis. The Celtics could use him in a similar way.

I still think he’s worth a look. It depends on what the Bucks want. I can live with a straight swap of Simons for Turner, but I can also live without it.

For what it’s worth, I’d be open to Bobby Portis if they’d take Sam Hauser for him. This would also depend on Boston re-signing Simons. With Tatum back, Portis can handle some small-ball center duties, and Simons can be a more dynamic shooter/scorer off the bench.

You've talked about the Celtics potentially being buyers, but no one seems to be talking about the fact that they have trade exceptions. Meaning, they don't have to match salaries if they really wanted to go for it. i.e., you could trade Baylor Scheierman (and a ton of picks) for Ivica Zubac. It doesn't have to match. - Doug K.

This is true, but only taking a player back with the exception puts Boston too far over the aprons. Acquiring someone like Ivica Zubac this way would hard cap the Celtics at the first apron because they're using the exception, and it would just make things really close.

Also, the exception is $22.5 million, which means anyone making more than that doesn’t fit. It’s certainly a tool at Boston’s disposal, but they have to be careful how it’s used.

Remember, you can submit questions at JohnKaralis.com/mailbag. The questions will either be answered here, or on the Locked On Celtics podcast.