In his first offseason serving as President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics, Brad Stevens is going to have his work cut out for him.
After such a disappointing season that was the 2020-21 campaign, the Cs are in desperate need of some major shakeups and, based on their current salary cap situation, it would appear that utilizing the trade market is one of the more likely routes in which the front office will embark on in an effort to bring on some new impactful talents.
Of course, the most buzzed-about hypothetical transaction Boston media is focusing on involves the likes of Damian Lillard coming to Beantown, but this sort of move would likely require many moving pieces and giving up more valuable assets than fans would like to see.
Though we’re certainly not suggesting the Celtics should sit out on talks for the superstar point guard, some of us at the Houdini believe it may be more of a realistic endeavor for them to try and make smaller deals that would involve fewer assets being moved in the process.
Perhaps one method the front office could try out is simply utilizing the remaining available money left from the Gordon Hayward Traded Player Exception they received last offseason — remember that?!
While they used $17 million of the TPE at this year’s NBA Trade Deadline on Evan Fournier, they still find themselves with roughly $11 million at their disposal, which they’ll be able to use this offseason up until mid-August.
Should they go down this route, and pursue players with what remains of this financial luxury, we at HH believe there are 3 players worth targeting:
Boston Celtics TPE target No. 1) Thomas Bryant
This summer, the Washington Wizards are a team to monitor closely. After yet another first-round playoff exit, many believe (likely based on hope rather than actual inside knowledge) that franchise cornerstone Bradley Beal could grow tired of the mediocre level of play in the nation’s capital and, in turn, request a trade.
Should this happen, obviously the Boston Celtics should inquire about him, but also, if he’s deemed too pricy, the team should strongly consider smaller deals for some of their other players — after all, should Beal go, Washington would be starting from scratch and, in turn, likely partake in some sort of firesale.
One player on the Wizards that could be of some value for the Cs should they opt to blow their roster up is fourth-year center, Thomas Bryant.
Prior to going down with a partially torn ACL tear in early January, the 23-year-old was having himself a really nice campaign as the starting center for Washington.
In 27.1 minutes per game, Bryant saw himself averaging 14.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and just shy of a block on 65 percent shooting from the floor and a stellar 43 percent shooting from deep.
Now, four months removed from having successful surgery, the center’s timetable for a return has not yet been noted — traditionally, recovery periods are 9-to-12 months for ACL tears.
However, even if he winds up missing a bit of time early on into next season, Thomas Bryant’s build of 6-10, 248-pounds coupled with his impressive all-around skill set, high-motor, and age could be enticing enough to throw a low-ball offer Washington’s way
Boston Celtics TPE target No. 2) Marvin Bagley
Funny enough, Marvin Bagley was viewed as a player we believed the Boston Celtics should have pursued when their TPE was fully intact.
Now, about eight months removed from their initial acquisition of the exception, the idea of the franchise targeting the center with what remains of it still is quite possible and, in turn, makes a ton of sense.
Picked second overall back in the 2018 NBA Draft, the former Duke Blue Devil has yet to live up to such a lofty selection and has even been the butt of jokes what with the fact that he was ultimately taken over players such as Trae Young and Luka Doncic who, by all accounts, are by far superior talents.
That said, even with these truths, Bagley has still proven to be a solid NBA player with a ton of upside to his game. A talented young center, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, the 22-year-old posted averages of 14.1 points and 7.4 boards per game this past season to go along with shooting clips of 50 percent from the floor and 34 percent from deep in 25.9 minutes a night for the dysfunctional Sacramento Kings.
At 6-11, 240-pounds Marvin Bagley has the build to be an intimidating presence at the pivot in this league while his offensive abilities show promise of him one day becoming quite an efficient three-level scorer.
Boston Celtics TPE target No. 3) Collin Sexton
It’s ever so apparent that the Boston Celtics will be looking to make some alterations to their talent pool at point guard this offseason and, should they miss out on the Damian Lillards of the world, there are still ways in which they can bolster the position.
Surprisingly, there’s one option that could be attained by means of the C’s leftover TPE, and that man goes by the name of Collin Sexton.
Earlier this month, when the rumors starting surfacing suggesting the guard could be on the outs in Cleveland, we naturally hopped in on the idea of the shamrocks inquiring about him and, ultimately, came to the conclusion that he would be worth dealing for.
Despite the fact that the third-year guard played at a tremendous level this past season, rumors have started circulating that suggest Cleveland’s numerous financial restraints may force the front office’s hand in trading away their 22-year-old talent, for his extension is looming and, being that they already have a younger guard in Darius Garland, and could even get another one this coming draft (Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, etc.), they could convince themselves that parting with Sexton to clear space may be the right move to make.
In 60 outings with the Cavs, the estranged youngster posted stellar per-game averages of 24.3 points, 4.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and a steal on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from deep.
Not only would his arrival in Boston give the Celtics a talented replacement option for Kemba Walker to run the show — assuming they find a way to offload his contract, of course –, but at his age, he could be a great third building block to develop alongside the team’s All-Star wings in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and, in turn, make their future even more promising than it already is.
Should Collin Sexton become available, the Boston Celtics should absolutely consider using the rest of their TPE on him.