As the NBA rolls through the halfway point of the season the Boston Celtics sit just below .500 with a record of 23-24. This record would place them in the play-in, a disappointment considering their pre-season expectations.
This puts Boston in a strange spot.
They obviously want to make the team better in an effort to have a better playoff performance, but also should be hesitant to make a big splash, as the team likely isn’t good enough anyway.
Therefore, the C’s are bound to make some fringe moves that will make their team marginally better without giving up much, avoiding the larger portions of the trade market. However, there are a few players who should be moved due to their contractual situations, as Brad Stevens and co. prepare to build around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for years to come.
The Celtics have the ability to make moves to gain value, while still setting themselves up to compete in years to come. The contending window is far from over, with both Tatum and Brown still in their early to mid 20s.
This is a unique opportunity to sell on assets while they still have value, acquiring players or draft capital that will help them in the long run.
Let’s go over 3 players who should be traded this deadline:
Player the Boston Celtics must trade No. 1) Dennis Schroder
In the offseason, Dennis Schroder essentially fell into the C’s lap.
Notoriously declining an extension with the Lakers that was upwards of $80 million, the point guard’s free agent market quickly dried up, leading to him signing a one-year prove it deal with Boston.
Making just under $6 million, his contract is easily movable, making it easy for the Celtics to sell him off. Despite any on-the-court concerns, trading Schroder makes the most sense when considering the team’s payroll.
Boston was never going to have money to re-sign the German-born baller, and they still don’t have that flexibility.
With the team’s disheartening season, it makes little to no sense to hang onto him while they can get something in return before he leaves for another team this upcoming offseason.
On the year, he’s averaging 16.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on 44.3 percent shooting from the floor and 36.4 percent shooting from distance. He’s had his fair share of ups and downs, but Schroder has been one of the team’s most consistent shooters of late, making his outside shots while most others falter.
However, he has hindered closing lineups with his lack of shooting in other scenarios, contributing to multiple fourth-quarter offensive collapses this season.
Simply put, with him as the main point guard, the ball doesn’t get moved around as much as it should. It makes sense for the Boston Celtics to flip him for another promising ball-handler or decent draft pick, as his statistically solid season could help any contender.
Player the Boston Celtics must trade No. 2) Al Horford
The latest batch of rumors has the Boston Celtics shopping around veteran center Al Horford, just five months after the two parties reunited in green.
Horford started the season as one of the team’s best players, but has slowly declined on the offensive end, hitting only 29 percent of his shots from the perimeter.
The 35 year-old provides a stellar defensive presence when he’s on the court, but clogs up too much of the paint on the offensive end, as coach Ime Udoka often has him playing next to Robert Williams in the team’s double big lineup.
Ideally, he would be a spot-starter at center and get the majority of his minutes at the backup five, but it doesn’t make sense to keep someone making $27 million on the team in that role.
Therefore, it makes sense to move on from the veteran to free up more minutes for Williams, allowing him to flourish with the rest of Boston’s core. It’s assumed that Horford will only continue to decline with age, so getting any sort of value for him this trade deadline will be valuable for both the present and future.
The double big lineup has been one of the team’s biggest problems in these first 47 games played, causing the team to get out to slow offensive starts. Freeing up minutes at the power forward position for a more modern four such as Tatum or even Grant Williams will help the team’s offense drastically, making them a more balanced and effective attack.
In return for Horford, Stevens should (and is) asking for capable centers, as the team lacks productive big man play after Al and Timelord.
Enes Freedom has had to step into the backup center role on multiple occasions, and has reminded everyone why he doesn’t see the floor more often.
Player the Boston Celtics must trade No. 3) Enes Freedom
The aforementioned Freedom has really struggled in his second stint in Boston averaging four points and 4.7 rebounds in 30 games for the C’s. He’s only shot 54.5 percent from the field, a low mark for a center spending almost all of his time around the rim.
The draw for Freedom is his offensive rebounding and finishing prowess: creating points out of missed shots. The clear drawbacks are his poor defense in half court sets, specifically when he’s put in pick-and-roll action.
This give-and-take would be fine for a backup center who gets into about half the team’s games, except he hasn’t been scoring at a rate consistent with the rest of his career. His finishing around the basket has been much worse this season, perhaps a sign of regression as he’ll turn 30 in May.
Ultimately, Freedom has been one of the biggest disappointments of the season, as he’s failed to give coach Udoka stable minutes at backup center. Too often he’s the subject of easy points for the opposition, giving coach limited options at the center position.
Despite the team’s severely capped depth, moving on from Freedom’s $2.6 million could push Boston under the luxury tax, something that the team’s ownership group is clearly prioritizing with the trade of Juancho Hernangomez.
If the C’s find a home for Al Horford and gain a viable center in return, expect to see Freedom on the way out as well.