Boston Celtics: 3 expiring contracts the Cs should trade for

Trade target #3 for the Boston Celtics: Kyle Anderson

One of my biggest blights with the Boston Celtics last season was how reliant they were on their younger role players despite not guaranteeing any of them consistent minutes until the end of the year.

Throwing young guys into the fire on a contender is fine if you have excellent front-loaded star power or veteran intensive depth like the Brooklyn Nets or Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately for the Cs, they were nowhere close to either of those teams and thus suffered the consequences of playing rookies and second-year guys high minutes in big games.

The Celts are poised to repeat this mistake, and although I’m high on Aaron Nesmith’s development, he should not be the Boston Celtics sole wing contributor behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Getting Richardson alleviates some stress on Nesmith’s shoulders, but they still need to find one or two more guys, specifically ones that can shoot.

Meet Kyle Anderson, the perfect two-way wing for the Celtics to slot into the starting lineup or bring off the bench to play next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Anderson brings some size, length, and patience to the Celtics wing core.

On top of his physical and mental abilities, he’s a reliable shooter, scorer, passer, playmaker, and defender at his position. Anderson’s versatility bodes well for the Celtics, much like Nances does, as they can play him at multiple positions and beside various guys. He can fit into any lineup and play any role for Ime Udoka.

The Memphis Grizzlies have a log jam at the wing right now and need to off-load some of their older guys to free up room for their youngins. Anderson is a couple of months away from turning 28 and in no way, shape, or form plans on receiving an extension from the Grizzlies, which means the Celts could be in line to acquire him.

His $9.9 million contract comes close to the Celtics newly acquired TPEs, and all they would have to give up to get Memphis to budge is a pick or one of their struggling young guys. If Anderson is genuinely available, the Boston Celtics need to make him a priority.