Spoiler alert: The Celtics will not swing any deals as seismic as the Luka Doncic-for-Anthony Davis shocker ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
But while Boston’s deadline activity likely won’t dominate NBA headlines, recent history suggests it will explore ways of tweaking its talented roster ahead of what the Celtics brass hopes will be another long playoff run.
With the trade deadline set for 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, here’s a primer on what to expect from the defending NBA champions:
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been active at the deadline every year since rising to his current role in 2021. Last season, the Celtics traded away Lamar Stevens and Delano Banton and acquired Jaden Springer and Xavier Tillman. In 2023, they brought in Mike Muscala. Their last major deadline move came in 2022, when they sent Romeo Langford, Josh Richardson, a first-round pick and a first-round pick swap to San Antonio for Derrick White (and reacquired Daniel Theis in a separate move).
Boston also added Luke Kornet and Evan Fournier at the final trade deadline of Danny Ainge’s tenure, so they’ve been involved in each of the last four.
The Celtics, with their stacked roster of highly paid veterans, are above the second apron of the NBA’s luxury tax, which severely restricts the type of moves they’re permitted to make.
They are not allowed to aggregate contracts in a trade or send out cash in a trade. That means they can’t, for example, package Springer and his $4 million salary and Tillman and his $2.2 million salary to acquire a player making $6.2 million. Boston also is barred from signing any buyout casualty whose previous contract paid him more than the mid-level exception of $12.8 million, and any new contract they take on would be subject to heavy tax penalties equaling $3.25 per dollar.
Simply put, it will be difficult for the Celtics to add anything more than a fringe player without trading away one of their big names, and that seems unlikely. Don’t expect any significant changes, but Stevens could look to tinker with the back half of Boston’s bench. The Celtics also entered the season with one open 15-man roster spot and have yet to fill it, so they theoretically could add a player without jettisoning any member of their current group.
The name to watch here is Springer, who owns the Celtics’ eighth-highest salary and ranks 13th in minutes played this season (141). If Stevens wants to add an affordable veteran, trading the 22-year-old guard would be the easiest way to do so from a financial perspective. Moving Springer in a simple salary dump is another possibility as Boston looks to mitigate its luxury tax burden.
But Springer looked like a player on the rise in the second half of January, delivering several of his best performances in a Celtics uniform. He was a game-changer in Boston’s overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers, played well in garbage time against the Lakers, was a plus-11 in a two-point loss to the Houston Rockets and logged 20 solid minutes against the Chicago Bulls. He’s a plus defender and has shown signs of life offensively, with one-third of his career 3-pointers coming in those four recent appearances (6 on 13 attempts).
That said, Springer rarely sees the floor when the Celtics have their entire core rotation available, so the team will need to determine whether his value as a depth/developmental piece outweighs what he could provide as a trade chip. Springer told the Herald last week that he hoped to stick around past deadline day, saying: “I love this team, man. … But whatever happens, happens, and I’m grateful for whatever comes.”
The Celtics’ other 2024 acquisition, Tillman, has played sparingly since the opening week of the season, making him another potential trade candidate. The 26-year-old power forward is making the veteran minimum and could be swapped out if Boston wants to add, either in a trade or on the buyout market. (One potential pickup there, veteran wing Torrey Craig, was waived by Chicago earlier this week.)
What does this Celtics roster need? When it’s healthy, not much. It’s still one of the deepest groups in the NBA, if not the deepest. But injuries have been more of an issue this season than they were for last year’s championship team. Head coach Joe Mazzulla has had all of his regulars (the five preferred starters, plus top reserves Al Horford, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Kornet) available for less than a quarter of Boston’s 51 games.
The Celtics have been healthier of late, but if they want to fortify their roster for the looming postseason, they could look to add another reliable wing behind Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Hauser, who’s dealt with a nagging lower back issue since the summer. Or another jolt of off-the-bench scoring to share the load when shots aren’t falling for Pritchard and Hauser. Boston’s frontcourt depth is solid with Kristaps Porzingis, Horford, Kornet and Neemias Queta, but Porzingis’ injury history and Horford’s age make adding extra insurance there another possibility.
As for potential Celtics targets, there are several familiar faces who could be on their radar. Among them: New Orleans wing Javonte Green; his Pelicans teammate, two-time ex-Celtic Theis; and Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele, who played his way back into the NBA with a stellar showing at the 2024 Summer Olympics and just scored 21 points against the C’s on Sunday.
If Boston wants to aim higher, it could make a run at center Walker Kessler, who has two years left on his rookie contract with Ainge’s Utah Jazz. ESPN also laid out a hypothetical Celtics trade for Toumani Camara, a 24-year-old 3-and-D wing for rebuilding Portland. Either of those deals would require a heavier draft capital investment than a lower-level rental.