Boston Celtics could wait until veteran with Ime Udoka ties gets cut to land him

Former Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge now runs the Jazz as the team’s president and is looking to rid Utah’s roster of any player that isn’t a potential rebuilding piece. He’s turned Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert into the rights to double-digit draft picks from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves, and it doesn’t appear that he is done.

The Los Angeles Lakers appear hellbent on flipping Russell Westbrook’s contract into several of the remaining non-rebuilding veteran pieces (Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Malik Beasley) Ainge still has on the Jazz roster, so Ainge may just be getting started.

Perhaps the Boston Celtics, by way of Ainge’s former protégé Brad Stevens now running the front office, can get involved in Utah’s teardown. Heavy’s Adam Taylor has supported the idea of trading Derrick White for Lauri Markkanen, but that might require giving up more draft picks — something Stevens may not be sold on after giving up two future firsts, one at the February trade deadline and one in the Malcolm Brogdon trade at the start of free agency.

If giving up more draft capital isn’t in the cards for Stevens and co., waiting it out in hopes Ainge simply cuts bait with veteran Rudy Gay–who has Ime Udoka ties from their shared days with the San Antonio Spurs–and signs him to a free agent deal. Sean Deveney of Heavy’s league source revealed that could be a plan even if Gay isn’t their preferred target:

"“I could see them maybe looking at Rudy Gay at some point if he gets bought out, which I think will happen. But he’s 36, and they’ve been trying to find young veterans, so even there, that’s not their first choice.”"

Why the Boston Celtics are hesitant to trade draft picks

That league source would go on to explain why Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is hesitant to trade any more of the franchise’s future draft picks, though there is some confusion in the answer:

"“In 2025, you will have Smart, White, and Brogdon all just about at the end of their deals, and they’ll all be in their 30s. You are going to need to restock the roster. They’ve been willing to trade picks now because their guys are all in their prime years. That’s going to come to an end, and they’ll need picks to deal with that.”"

Malcolm Brogdon’s contract expires at the end of the 2022-23 season, so perhaps the league source knows something we don’t about a potential extension for the former Indiana Pacer. Still, it sounds like fringe moves will be what moves the needle forward, and Rudy Gay on a minimal deal fits that mold.