Rumors: The Boston Celtics are interested in this Minnesota wing

The Boston Celtics continue to be one of the most active teams this trade deadline.

Sitting at 28-25, only five games back from the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, the C’s have lots of different directions they could go.

Despite this, any move made will be an attempt to make the team better, as the squad, off the back of incredible Marcus Smart performances, has seemingly found itself in the past few weeks.

While it was once a priority to get under the luxury tax, if this play continues, improving in both the present and future will take precedent.

Dennis Schroder and Al Horford are the most likely candidates to depart, simply due to financial restrictions. Both have disappointed on the court in various points this season, with coach Udoka opting for playing time for Josh Richardson and Grant Williams over the duo.

The Boston Celtics may make a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves

Sitting at 26-25, the Minnesota Timberwolves are set to serve as buyers at the deadline for the first time in a while. With the emergence of Anthony Edwards, along with the duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell, Minnesota has one too many mouths to feed.

The odd man out is Malik Beasley, who’s in the second year of his four-year, $60 million deal.

Beasley has taken a backseat to the likes of Edwards and Towns, averaging only 12 points per game this season compared to almost 20 last campaign.

Beasley’s efficiency has also taken a hit, only shooting 37 percent from the field, including 34 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Throughout his career, he’s shown the ability to be a knock-down 3-point shooter, shooting just under 40 percent last year from that same range. Additionally, he can create his own looks, something this Boston Celtics bench has been lacking consistently all season.

To acquire Beasley, the C’s will need to part with either Richardson or Smart due to salary-matching rules. There is reported interest from both parties in a potential trade, but there is a disconnect on the price for a player of Beasley’s caliber.

The Celtics have offered a combination of Richardson and either Romeo Langford or Aaron Nesmith for the sixth-year veteran — an offer the Timberwolves declined relatively easily.

Beasley is practically the only tradable contract on Minnesota’s roster, who is wanting to make a bigger splash than getting rid of their only trade chip for a nice 3-and-D wing.

With guard Patrick Beverley in the last year of his deal, Minnesota is already looking to replace him, targeting Marcus Smart as an ideal substitute for his role.

Smart would provide a defensive presence alongside Jaden McDaniels, complimenting the offensively skilled stars in Towns and Edwards.

However, from Boston’s point of view, this price would be far too much.

Ideally, Beasley would act as a sparkplug sixth man off the bench, scoring buckets at will at a decently efficient rate. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to show that level of consistency this season as of yet, making it difficult to pull the trigger on a trade for him.

Additionally, the improved play of Marcus Smart over the last two weeks as the team’s starting point guard has been revolutionary. The offense has been moving at a much faster pace, resulting in more open looks and, ultimately, wins.

Parting with their starter just as the team starts to gel and build chemistry seems like a bad idea, especially for an inconsistent scorer.

A trade sending Josh Richardson to Minnesota seems more likely, with the veteran wing being named in many trade talks around the league.

However, similarly to Smart, it would be hard to part with one of the team’s biggest success stories of the season, most recently seeing him drop a team-high 23 points while hitting six of his eight 3-point attempts against the Charlotte Hornets during Wednesday night’s victory.

In a swap of Richardson and Beasley, the front office would be hoping for similar levels of production. When that’s the case, the better decision is to just stick with what you got, building chemistry over the rest of the season.

Therefore, although talks of Malik Beasley to the Boston Celtics have certainly been present this trade season, it wouldn’t be beneficial to make a trade happen.