With just under a week to go till the March 25th NBA trade deadline arrives, Boston Celtics fans are champing at the bit awaiting any semblance of an idea in regard to what Danny Ainge and co. plan on doing.
As things currently stand, the Cs find themselves residing in the seventh seed out in the Eastern Conference at 20-20.
While the good news is they are just two wins behind the fourth-seeded Miami Heat, thus insinuating even the smallest of win streaks could feasibly thrust them up three whole spots in the standings, the bad news is they are only three wins ahead of the 11th seeded Toronto Raptors, which means a cold spell could feasibly drop the Cs a whole four spots.
With all this in mind, many are under the impression that, if this shamrocks squad wishes to get back on track, they must consider making some moves by this year’s deadline.
Though we recently made the argument that this front office should strongly consider holding off on making trades until the upcoming offseason, this was largely in reference to big moves that would require giving up several picks and/ or using up their historically large $28.5 million TPE.
In fact, some could even argue that making smaller moves to simply add depth to the roster could be of great benefit to this team moving forward through the current campaign, and a way they could go about doing such a small-scale trade would be by using one of their other oft-forgotten TPEs, specifically the one they received during the Enes Kanter sign-and-trade to Portland.
The Boston Celtics should consider using their $4.8 million Enes Kanter TPE
While the brunt of the TPE focus has been on the one they received from the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade this past offseason — and rightly so –, the Boston Celtics quietly managed to snag two more via their offseason trades that sent Vincent Poirier to the OKC Thunder and Kanter to the Trail Blazers.
The biggest of the two latter exceptions is Kanter’s, which clocks in at a value of up to $4.8 million.
Now listen, obviously, we don’t expect the Cs will be able to get anyone of huge significance with this specific TPE but, looking around the league, if they’re willing to part with a second-rounder or two, there are a few players worth considering with such a method of acquisition.
Here are 3 specific players that immediately come to mind:
Boston Celtics trade target No. 1) Mike Muscala
Perhaps the most famous quote this season in regard to the Boston Celtics came from when Danny Ainge declared that he believes the team needs ‘shooters with size.’
"Ainge was pressed on what he thinks the Celtics’ top need is currently. “I would say maybe shooting with size,” he replied. “There are a lot of different ways that you can win in this league,” said Ainge when asked specifically why he felt that way, “but I would say that shooting, we could use shooting, we could use passing, but you always need defense."
Naturally, this sent fans and media alike into a frenzy trying to figure out what trade targets could qualify for such a distinction.
We here at HH believe that an under-the-radar player the Cs could consider to fill such a desire from the front office is OKC Thunder veteran, Mike Muscala.
Currently, in the midst of one of his best seasons as a pro, the 6-10 big man is posting per-game averages of 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds on 45 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from deep.
Shooting about 37 percent from deep for his career, 2020-21 does not seem to be an aberration and, if Oklahoma City’s recent dealings are any indicator, a second-round pick could be enough to entice the franchise to consider parting with him.