Boston Celtics: 4 Cs who could be on trade block by March deadline

Tristan Thompson

Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes floated the idea of the Boston Celtics regretting the signing of Tristan Thompson…and his reasoning was solid:

"Opponents are feasting at the rim with Thompson in the game, getting to close range more often and converting at alarming rates. Inside six feet, players are hitting 74.4 percent of their shots with Thompson as the primary defender. That’s the fifth-highest hit rate allowed in the league among players who’ve defended at least 40 total attempts. Among bigs, only Enes Kanter, Paul Millsap and Marvin Bagley III have been worse deterrents."

That he’s barely outperforming Enes Kanter at double the price tag is disappointing to say the least, considering Kanter is known league-wide as perhaps the worst rim-protector in the association.

Thompson owns one of the largest non-core piece salary, so by default, he should be available for the right price on February 6th (the first day contracts signed this past offseason can be traded) until the trade deadline on March 25th.

Daniel Theis

I’ve personally been out on Theis for a bit, trading him to the Nets the other day. B/R’s Grant Hughes also isn’t high on him, as he wrote this in his piece as well:

"Boston’s defense craters with Thompson and Daniel Theis on the floor, which isn’t what you’d expect from an old-school two-big lineup. Those are supposed to struggle on offense but lock down the lane and suppress opponents’ scoring. That hasn’t happened."

Thompson and Theis had a chance to thrive together, but both look less like viable long-term options than Robert Williams…if the “Time Lord” can ever stay healthy.