Potential Options Celtics Could Fit into Largest Trade Exception
At last year's trade deadline, the Boston Celtics created a $5,890,00 traded player exception (TPE) in the deal that sent Dennis Schroder to the Houston Rockets. That TPE expires Friday, one day after this year's trade deadline.
A source conveyed to Keith Smith of Celtics Blog, "We haven’t talked to a player who makes more than $6 million with Boston. They’re offering picks and minor players for our low-salary guys. They want to use that TPE."
A source from a rival team relayed to Smith, "It’s clear to us that Brad (Stevens) has the go-ahead to add tax money, because all of our conversations would be TPE trades for them. We just don’t have anyone that’s a fit for that kind of deal, but the Celtics are trying to use it."
Absorbing a player into Boston's most sizable traded player exception in exchange for one or two second-round picks and a player from the end of the bench is the least painful path for the Celtics to acquire an upgrade.
Keeping in mind that you get what you do and don't pay for, here are some options Boston could add for that cost and who can at least help the team with the NBA's top record (38-16) pace itself through the remainder of the regular season.
Cam Reddish
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Cam Reddish is a tantalizing talent. He can do a bit of everything on the basketball court, yet the former Duke Blue Devil isn't just inconsistent, but he's prone to stretches where he has no impact on the game.
Last year, the Knicks acquired Reddish in a deal that involved New York sending another former lottery pick, Kevin Knox II, and a future first-round selection to Atlanta.
Reddish has played in 35 games for the Knicks, averaging 7.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, and shooting under 30 percent from beyond the arc.
The former tenth-overall pick has been a healthy scratch since early December. He's averaging 8.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, and converting on 30.4 percent of the 2.8 threes he's hoisting in 21.9 minutes of floor time over 20 games.
Reddish hasn't lived up to his potential, but if the Celtics want to take a flier, with New York ready to move on, it won't cost much to acquire the six-foot-eight wing.
Kenrich Williams
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Kenrich Williams, a.k.a. Kenny Hustle, is a player Celtics fans would fall in love with quickly.
Williams brings an infusion of energy and effort off the bench, and he's producing 7.8 points and five rebounds per game this season while taking 2.5 threes and knocking them down at a 39.8 percent clip.
He's also on a team-friendly contract. Williams is making $2 million this season, then has an average annual value of $6.4 million over the next four years, including a $7.2 million club option for the 2026-27 campaign when he'll be 31.
The six-foot-six forward who plays bigger than his size could function alongside Grant Williams or be his replacement. The latter's probably only on his way out of Boston if a team like the Heat offer him a starting role and the Celtics intend for him to remain a second-unit member even if they re-sign him.
The Thunder forward would cost multiple second-round picks and at least Sam Hauser, if not Payton Pritchard. But in a scenario where Boston trades Grant Williams to upgrade its depth at center or on the wings, if Oklahoma City would make this trade for Hauser, it's at least worth considering.
Cory Joseph
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Like the scenario above, acquiring Cory Joseph would represent part of another two-step plan.
Let's say the Celtics trade Pritchard to improve at another spot, for example, as part of a package to acquire Naz Reid from the Timberwolves. Boston could then swing a deal with the Pistons to bring in Joseph as its new insurance policy at point guard.
Now in his 12th season, the six-foot-three guard is a tenacious on-ball defender who came up in the Spurs system and could give the Celtics another ball handler when they're missing one of their top options.
Joseph, a career 34.2 percent three-point shooter who made 41.4 percent of the 2.4 long-range attempts he hoisted last season, would also benefit from the open looks he gets from playing off at least one of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Joseph's making $5.2 million on an expiring contract, making the former first-round pick a low-risk option who could prove worth re-signing if he takes well to the role currently occupied by Pritchard.
Garrison Mathews
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If Boston utilizes its $5.9 million TPE to add a low-cost player who helps get through the rest of the regular season, parting with a second-round pick to acquire a career 36.6 percent three-point shooter on 4.1 attempts makes sense.
Mathews has a $2 million non-guaranteed deal for the 2023-24 campaign and a $2.2 million club option for 2024-25.
He's having a down year, averaging 4.8 points and shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc. But the Celtics' final cut from training camp before last season began, getting edged out by Jabari Parker, produced ten points per game and capitalized on 36 percent of the 5.9 threes he launched in 2021-22.
Hamidou Diallo
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Hamidou Diallo is a below-30 percent career three-point shooter on 1.1 attempts. However, he's also an explosive, energetic wing, contributing 8.3 points per contest and scored in double figures the four seasons before it.
Diallo also ranks seventh in deflections per 36 minutes among players who have suited up in at least 30 games this season, per NBA.com.
The former Kentucky Wildcat is on an expiring $5.2 million club option.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats are from Basketball-Reference, and all contractual information is courtesy of Spotrac.
Further Reading
Will Celtics Trade Grant Williams? Chatter Reportedly 'Starting to Grow'
Nothing More Than a Rumor: The Celtics Should Not and Will Not Trade Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant
Celtics Reportedly Considering Trade For Local Big Man To Improve Center Depth
A Potential Buyout Target and the Celtics are Reportedly Showing Mutual Interest
