Boston Celtics Rumors: 3 potential buyout candidates that could best help the C’s

Tristan Thompson

After the shocking trade that saw Andre Drummond shipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the deadline, the likelihood of the Tristan Thompson being offloaded from the team’s roster at some point within the next few months rose significantly.

Sure, sources say the team intends on keeping the center duo together for the remainder of the season, but that’s what they say now. There is absolutely no way they can coexist in this lineup. Thompson could get fed up with the situation and potentially work out a buyout from the team — after all, they have till March 1st to do it.

If this hypothetical scenario turns into a reality, he would without a doubt be the most highly coveted player on the open market. The Boston Celtics should be one of those teams vying for his services.

I get it, Tristan Thompson isn’t much of a modern day big man. He has a limited post game, can’t stretch the floor and has shown a knack for off-court drama, but his game would fit in with this talented Celtics group quite nicely.

Through 48 games, the center is putting up 11.9 points, 10.4 boards and just a hair shy of a block per contest on 51 percent shooting from the field. He would easily step in to be Boston’s starting five and would add strong rebounding skills (3rd in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game) and solid defensive chops.

Is Thompson the impact player you may have wanted the team to acquire? No.

But, if the Boston Celtics could sign him at a relatively low rate — a pattern with players on the buyout market — it would be seen as an absolute steal.