Boston Celtics: 3 expendable Cs in offseason if Banner 18 isn’t raised

Boston Celtics expendable offseason piece #3: Daniel Theis

I raised the idea of a Daniel Theis trade recently in a piece titled ‘3 players to trade Daniel Theis for in the offseason’:

"When Boston last had Theis, he started for an Eastern Conference finals squad and later shared the frontcourt with Tristan Thompson to little success. He was dealt at the 2021 NBA trade deadline for Luke Kornet (who is still with the team) and Moritz Wagner, who lasted less than a month in green. Now, he is struggling to contribute while holding a price tag that may best be used elsewhere. This Cs team could have a razor-thin margin for error in a suddenly loaded Eastern Conference in the coming years, so maximizing his salary could be paramount to building a contender."

The idea didn’t sit well with everyone. But I’m doubling down.

Daniel Theis is now the most expendable significant salary the Celtics could sell off in the offseason. Making roughly $9 million the next three years, Theis can be used in aggregate or as a standalone piece to acquire talent elsewhere.

The point guard spot could use a pure passer (like say, an Ish Smith) while Cedi Osman would be a brilliant add as a pliable frontcourt chess-piece.

A number of salaries match Theis’ MLE-sized pact, making a trade far from difficult to pull off. Since he hasn’t been able to make much of an impact behind Al Horford, Robert Williams, and Grant Williams, perhaps a second Theis trade in as many years from the Boston Celtics is in the future.