3 “bad contracts” the Boston Celtics could consider trading for
By Mark Nilon
As the season keeps moving along, the losses keep piling on for the likes of the Boston Celtics.
Now 39 games into 2021-22 the shamrocks find themselves three games below .500 at 18-21 and, as a result, are slotted in the 11th seed out in the Eastern Conference standings.
For the second straight season, things have certainly not been easy for the shamrocks and, should they not act soon, they could wind up enduring an even worse fate than the one they experienced in 2020-21.
Unfortunately, however, due to the fact that they have a minimal amount of intriguing young prospects at the moment and are not flush with any truly valuable draft capital (they can’t even trade their 2022 pick due to the offseason Kemba Walker deal), it’ll be quite the challenge for the Celtics to strike on a deal that will be viewed as instantaneously beneficial for the ball club.
Because of this, it is more than likely that, should Brad Stevens and co. opt to look towards the trade market (they really need to) they’ll need to take some risks, and perhaps one of said risks could come in the form of dealing for undesirable players or, in other words, talents attached to “bad contracts.”
Should they go down this path and pursue talents signed to such deals, we at HH believe there are 3, in particular, they may wish to consider:
Boston Celtics trade target No. 1) Buddy Hield (3-years, $61.6 million)
A player quite often found linked to the Boston Celtics as a hopeful trade target, veteran guard Buddy Hield is an intriguing option for the franchise to consider despite his lofty salary.
Currently in his sixth season in the association, the 29-year-old once again finds himself having an impressive campaign whilst predominantly coming off the pine for the Sacramento Kings. In 40 games played, Hield is posting sound per-game averages of 15.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and two assists on 38 percent shooting from downtown.
Over the past several seasons, one of Boston’s most glaring weaknesses has undoubtedly been their bench, specifically their offensive production and, as of this writing, their second unit finds itself ranked 28th in points, 21st in field goal percentage, and dead last in offensive rating.
Alongside this sad but true factoid, the Cs have also struggled mightily to find a competent tertiary scoring option to partner with franchise cornerstones Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
On both counts, Buddy Hield could serve as a solution to these problems and, even with his rather pricey deal, he should be considered as a possible target for the franchise.