Boston Celtics: 3 Tristan Thompson trades to help replace Kemba Walker
By Jack Simone
Well, the Boston Celtics offseason is officially underway. Brad Stevens traded Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford to kick-off his tenure as President of Basketball Operations.
With the move, the C’s shed a bunch of salary for the future. However, they also find themselves with a massive log-jam at the center position.
In addition to Horford, the Celtics received seven-foot-two center Moses Brown in the deal. The 21-year-old is on a sub-$2 million contract that extends out to the 2023-24 season.
This means that the C’s now find themselves with five playable centers. This includes Robert Williams, Tristan Thompson, Grant Williams, Al Horford, and Moses Brown.
The offseason is just getting started, and the Boston Celtics clearly have some decisions to make. Not only do they have a plethora of centers, but also some holes to shore up at the point guard position.
Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard are now the only two ball-handlers left on the team. Evan Fournier would also act as a primary ball-handler, but the C’s still have to re-sign him.
With all that in mind, some of Boston’s big men might be on the trading block soon. Whether Stevens chooses to trade Robert Williams in a big-time move or Tristan Thompson in a lesser deal, one of these centers is likely to be on the move.
The real question now is what Stevens chooses to prioritize.
Will he try to add more ball-handling? Will he simply dump more contracts? Will there be another blockbuster deal?
There are plenty of options out there. It’s time to explore them, starting with who many consider being the most likely trade candidates – Tristan Thompson and Grant Williams.