Boston Celtics: Predicting the fate of 4 Cs currently viewed as expendable
By Seth Quinn
Boston Celtics Player No. 1) Tristan Thompson
Tristan Thompson is one of two free agent signings made by Danny Ainge last offseason (the other being Jeff Teague who was traded at the trade deadline).
He’s been a solid player for the C’s, providing good rebounding, post defense, and veteran leadership.
His veteran presence has shone brightly during the playoffs so far both in the play-in game against the Wizards, and against the Nets in the three games so far.
However, Thompson doesn’t provide a whole lot on offense outside of offensive rebounding, isn’t great at defending the perimeter or protecting the rim, and is definitely expendable with the emergence of Robert Williams, who has looked great both during the regular season and playoffs when healthy.
On top of that, Thompson will be making almost $10 million next season, which is a lot for a player who will most likely be the backup center.
Based on those reasons, I believe that Thompson is an obvious candidate to either be shipped out to clear salary in order to make other roster moves, or be packaged with either young players or other established veterans in order to match salary.
Possible teams that may be interested are a team that really needs a center, like the Charlotte Hornets, or a young team looking for a veteran presence in the locker room, like Thompson’s former team the Cleveland Cavaliers, who could be interested in a reunion.