The Boston Celtics are starting to show some foundational cracks, having dropped their last three games against opponents under .500 — this despite returning their starting center Robert Williams.
Boston is at a crossroads in the 2022-23 season as the new year approaches. They could either trust in their guys, as Joe Mazzulla said they should following a 117-112 victory on December 21, or look to the trade market for upgrades.
Air Alamo, Hardwood Houdini’s San Antonio Spurs-focused sister site, recently set the price for their center Jakob Poeltl — who is averaging 12 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in 2022-23 — and it includes two former lottery picks, a future first-round pick, and three future second-round selections:
Why the Boston Celtics do it
Jakob Poeltl would be a major frontcourt upgrade for the Celtics’ second unit, and the time is now for Boston to move all their chips to the center of the table. Danilo Gallinari was released by San Antonio last summer after the Dejounte Murray trade, making an inclusion in a trade iteration like this impossible, but if the two teams can move around that and find a third team, this would be proper value for the big man.
If the Cs could re-sign Poeltl to a long-term deal for a reasonable salary figure, giving up so many draft picks would hurt significantly less.
Why the San Antonio Spurs do it
The San Antonio Spurs are going to want to do whatever it takes to not only enter the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, but also continue to add future assets for when the team will be competitive once again.
This mock trade proposal brings the Spurs much closer to accomplishing both and gives the buyout market two potential additions — which could come back to bite Boston if a recovered Danilo Gallinari or Blake Griffin end up on a rival contender.