Despite their best efforts to make some much-needed organizational and rotational shakeups this past summer, the Boston Celtics continue to find themselves underperforming through the first month and a half of action.
Boasting a rather pedestrian record of 9-8 the Cs are slotted down in the same range of the Eastern Conference standings as they were last year and, based on their production to date, should their personnel remain completely the same moving forward, more likely than not fans will sadly just be treated to more of the same inconsistent and erratic play.
That said, based on recent rumblings, specifically in regard to those pertaining to the report that Brad Stevens and co. have already inquired about estranged Philadelphia 76ers star, Ben Simmons, this front office might be interested in making a move at some point in the near future.
Now, while the concept of seeing the Boston Celtics nab the stud point guard could make for a great high-impact acquisition, there are plenty of other impact players out there that could be up for grabs.
Just recently, in fact, Dan Greenberg of Barstool Sports rattled off a list of six individuals who he believes could be interesting targets for the shamrocks to consider pursuing via trade this season.
With this posting, it inspired us at the Houdini to push out yet another installment of our favorite series we call “Pass or Pursue”, where we discuss whether or not the Boston Celtics should sit out on going after a specific player or if they should actively try to acquire them.
So, without further adieu, let’s get started:
Boston Celtics trade target No. 1) Garrett Temple
One of Boston’s most glaring weaknesses this season is their shooting efficiency, specifically from downtown.
With a long-range conversion rate of just 32.3 percent the Celtics currently find themselves ranked 26th in the NBA in 3-point percentage and, in regard to overall field goal percentage, are ranked 22nd with a shooting clip of just 43.9 percent.
Because of this, it is the belief of many that the front office should be targeting shooters that could potentially find their way onto the trade block at some point this season, and a rather cheap option Greenberg brought up in his piece is veteran sharpshooter, Garrett Temple.
Now in his 12th season in the league the wing finds himself logging minutes for the unbelievably putrid New Orleans Pelicans where, in 21 minutes a night, is posting averages of 5.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 39 percent shooting from deep.
This brand of shooting efficiency, coupled with his cost-efficient average salary of just $5.1 million per year through 2024 is exactly why Greenberg has Temple as a player he’s intrigued in seeing the Cs pursue.
However, while we at HH have even discussed the concept of Boston acquiring the veteran in the past, after seeing just how poor this team has played thus far into the year we believe that, if they’re going to make a move, it has to be for a player who can actually serve as a true difference-maker on the court and not just one who will serve as a stationary shooter and as another veteran presence in the locker room.
By no means are we trying to state that Garrett Temple still can’t be a quality presence and contributor on a team looking to compete. Instead, we’re simply saying that the Celtics need much more than what he provides to simply thrust themselves into the level of team that he’d make the greatest of impacts on.
Verdict: Pass
Boston Celtics trade target No. 2) Bryn Forbes
Similar to Garrett Temple, Bryn Forbes is a sharp shooting wing that we at the site have even talked about as a potential target in the past and, this past summer, viewed him as a legitimate free agency option for the franchise.
Ultimately, after winning a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks, the sixth-year pro opted to head back to where his career started and sign with San Antonio on a one-year. $4.5 million.
Now, 15 games into the season we see the 28 year old logging just 12.4 minutes a night on the rapidly sinking Spurs and, should their downward trajectory continue, the team’s front office could opt to offload any potentially useful assets they have in an attempt to bring back pieces that could aid in their inevitable rebuild.
Should this happen, Greenberg believes the Boston Celtics should consier pursuing the likes of Forbes for his shooting efficiency, as he boasts a 41 percent 3-point shooting average and is currently knocking down his long-range attempts at a near 42 percent clip.
However, like we stated when discussing the concept of adding Temple to the team, if Boston is willing to offload assets, no matter how big or small, they need to be focused on adding multi-demensional talents rather than just catch-and-shoot snipers for, frankly, they need much more then that in order to start moving in the right direction.
While he would be a nice complimentary piece to the team, at this point Boston needs to set their sights a bit higher.
Verdict: Pass
Boston Celtics trade target No. 3) Doug McDermott
Sticking with the same ball club, Greenberg also went on to list Forbes’s San Antonio teammate, Doug McDermott, as another potential target that could make sense for the Boston Celtics to pursue.
An offseason free agency signing by the franchise, the offensive-minded forward finds himself logging 25+ minutes in the starting rotation for the Spurs and, in turn, is posting a sound stat line of 10.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting at 44 percent from deep on nearly five attempts on average.
From a skill-set standpoint, Dougie McBuckets actually makes quite a bit of sense for the offensively underwhelming Celtics, especially if he were to serve in a bench role.
With his overall scoring abilities (career averages of 16 points on 48 percent shooting from the floor 41 percent shooting from deep per 75 possessions) coupled with his specific size the eighth-year forward could serve as a nice spark off the pine who can come and fill in at multiple positions from the two all the way down to the four.
His ability to effectively stroke it from deep while also having the ability to put the ball on the floor and create for himself makes him a highly desiered offensive contributor not named Jayson or Jaylen while his $13.7 million salary could easily be absorbed via the Evan Fournier TPE.
While we personally believe there are better options out there that can be acquired by these means, should all else fail and should be he able to be acquired for the right price, Doug McDermott could actually prove to be a quality grab for Boston.
Verdict: Pursue (on the low)
Boston Celtics trade target No. 4) Eric Gordon
Solely from a talent and skill-set perspective, Eric Gordon is actually one of the most ideal players the Boston Celtics could bring aboard outside of, say, an upgrade at the point guard position such as Dejounte Murray, Ben Simmons, etc.
A pure scorer who’s made a career for himself being a spark-plug super sixth-man, the 14-year veteran finds himself stuck on the rebuilding Rockets when he’s a player best served suiting up for a contender or, at the very least one that legitimately hopes to be by year’s end.
The shamrocks certainly appear to be gunning towards the latter and, what with their unbelievably pedestrian second-unit scoring unit, one where they rank second to last in points per game, dead last in field goal percentage and in offensive rating, a guy of Gordon’s skills could actually be a tremendous addition which is why Greenberg has him slotted in on his trade targets list.
However, acquiring the shooting guard would be far more than just bringing on his on-court expertice — the Cs would also be bringing on his baggage.
Should the Celtics opt to deal for him, his $18.8 million salary would prevent them from attaining him by means of any of their dissposable TPEs, which means they’d have to part with players attatched to future draft capital which, frankly, is not something we believe they should be looking to do, especially if it means just bringing back Gordon.
Aside from his costly financial situation, the guard also finds himself in possession of a long and extensive injury history that has kept him from playing in 60 or more games in all but six years during his career and has held him to under 50 games in five.
Regardless of his impressive career averages of 16.6 points on 37 percent shooting from deep, the 33-year-old is simply too risky of a player for Boston to shell out assets for, especially at his price-range.
Verdict: Pass
Boston Celtics trade target No. 5) Jeremy Lamb
If it wasn’t already obvious simply from looking at the players mentioned here today, the whole point of Greenberg’s list, aside from looking into ways to bolster the talent pool found within Boston’s rotation, is to discuss potentially available shooters to target in an effort to help improve their scoring efficiency, and, despite not being one of the sexiest of names, Jeremy Lamb certainly fits the bill.
Since 2018, the wing has managed to post solid complementary averages of 12.9 points on 45 percent shooting from the floor, 36 percent shooting from deep, and 88 percent shooting from the charity stripe.
This season, Lamb has proven to still be just effective as he ever has, posting 20 points and 6.5 rebounds per 75 possessions while converting on 42 percent of his 3-point attempts and boasts an impressive effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot attempts of 66.7, all attributes the Boston Celtics could certainly use coming off the bench.
Couple all this with the fact that his salary ($10 million) fits soundly into the team’s Evan Fournier TPE, and Boston has a rather simple path towards going about acquiring the 3-and-D two guard.
Obviously we hope the Cs use such a luxury on a bigger name/ talet (Terrence Ross is always a favorite option of ours), but as a true back-up target that would likely cost no more than a low-end draft pick or two, bringing on someone of Lamb’s abilities and efficiency migh could prove to be a quality move for a team that has seen far too many open looks from deep fly off target.
Verdict: Pursue (on the low)
Boston Celtics trade target No. 6) Buddy Hield
Last on the list we find the biggest name mentioned here today in Sacramento Kings wing, Buddy Hield.
As we’ve stated on numerous occasions during this piece, the Boston Celtics have a putrid second-unit scoring punch and could certainly use for a legitimate difference maker to have come off the bench and serve as a much-needed offensive spark plug.
Hield would absolutely be that brand of baller.
Despite suiting up for the lowly Kings, serving as their trusty sixth-man the sixth-year pro has managed to be quite a solid contributor, boasting impressive averages of 16.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 39 percent shooting from deep.
Now, unfortunately Hield’s contract ($22.4 million) would make it impossible for the shamrocks to use one of their TPEs in such a hypothetical transaction, but Greenberg believes that there may be a way to concoct a trade that allows Boston to hold onto their true difference makers from this season while also helping Sacramento in the long-run:
"This is not something that will be able to be done with a TPE. You’re going to have to give up multiple players and probably at least one first round pick to even get the Kings to entertain the idea. The question then becomes if the Kings are going to blow it up and start over, could a package around Richardson/Juancho/Romeo or Nesmith and a pick be enough? Richardson will be an expiring next year, Juancho is non guaranteed and they could take back a young wing prospect and a pick."
If it were to cost Boston a deal similar to the one Greenberg suggested, pursuing Buddy Hield would be a no brainer as far as we’re concerned.
Be it in a starting role or as a high-end sixth-man, the shooting guard would only prove to be an unbelievable luxury for the Celtics moving forward.
Even with his price tag, Hield is a player absolutely worth Brad Stevens and co. monitoring.