An ideal last-minute trade the Boston Celtics could use $17.1M TPE on

Today marks the final day in which the Boston Celtics can actually use their $17.1 million TPE that they received exactly a year ago in the Evan Fournier sign-and-trade with the New York Knicks.

Since acquiring it, there has been constant chatter pertaining to who the franchise could look to strike a deal for, with intriguing talents such as Dejounte Murray, Collin Sexton, and Kyle Kuzma all finding their names linked to the C’s at one point in time during this stretch.

However, flash forward to the present day and it appears that, in one way or another, all the higher echelon names that were once viewed as realistic targets are no longer in play and, with just hours remaining on the exception’s shelf life, Brad Stevens and co. must look elsewhere for potential difference makers should they actually wish to utilize this lofty luxury.

Though they may not be able to attain an actual star player with the TPE anymore (well, they most likely won’t be able to anyway), there are still several quality targets out there that could be of great service to this championship-aspiring rotation and one player, in particular, could check off many boxes for the Boston Celtics and could likely be had at somewhat of a steal of a price.

Recently, veteran big man Derrick Favors has caught the attention of many fans and media pundits alike, as he’s a 31-year-old, win-now type of talent stranded on a rebuilding OKC Thunder team.

Considering his $10.1 million salary for next season, coupled with the fact that his specific skill set could actually be of great service for Boston within their frontcourt, many are under the impression that, should they actually be willing to use the $17.1 million TPE, Favors should be someone high on their radar and, with this in mind, we at the Houdini concocted a trade package that could entice Oklahoma City to part ways with the aging talent:

While the Malcolm Brogdon trade from earlier this summer was certainly a move that helped improve the rotation in a multitude of ways, there were still some negatives that came with the exchange, most notably the fact that, with the fact that Daniel Theis was sent to Indiana in the process, the team’s frontcourt depth went on to take a considerable hit.

Now sure, it’s quite apparent that the Boston Celtics already have quality options within their arsenal with the likes of Robert Williams III and Al Horford but, considering the fact that both have a considerable amount of baggage attached to their names (the former is incredibly injury prone while the latter is a 36-year-old, 15-year NBA veteran), the front office should be interested in beefing up their talents down low.

With this in mind, Derrick Favors could be an absolute blessing to have backing up these two aforementioned ballers.

Throughout his 12-year career, the former third overall pick has managed to establish himself as a savvy low-post scorer and a quality rim protector, boasting sound per-game averages of 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks on 53 percent shooting from the floor whilst also boasting an impressive career defensive rating of 104.

While he may have spent the large majority of his career stationed at the four, these past five years have seen him spending the bulk of his time at the pivot where, in turn, he’s found himself putting up solid averages of 15.2 points, 11.6 boards, and 1.7 blocks per 75 possessions on 58 percent shooting from deep, thus proving he can effectively produce as a tweener big, which would do wonders for the C’s needs down low.

Over the years, we’ve seen the big flawlessly transition from being a franchise centerpiece to a low-usage reserve player, and has still managed to provide some impressive impact despite his dwindling minutes.

Since the 2019-20 campaign, Favors’ MPG averages have continued to plummet, but his efficiency has remained intact when on the floor, showing that he doesn’t need a ton of touches to make an impact when in the game (i.e. something this Boston Celtics team could absolutely use).

During this time span, the power forward has grown far more accustomed to being called upon to set screens for his teammates, gobble up boards (total rebound percentage of 17.4 since 2020-21), and defend the rim rather than simply looking to pad his own stats, all of which are unselfish traits that would be tremendous additions to the backup big man spot on this title-hopeful team.

All of this for a mere 2023 second-round pick?

Sign me up!