With the blockbuster three-team trade that saw the Lakers land D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt, the Timberwolves land Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the less favorable of the Wizards’ and Grizzlies’ second-round picks in 2024 and Utah’s second-round picks in 2025 and 2026, and the Jazz land receive Russell Westbrook and a 2027 first-round pick from the Lakers that is top-four protected, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Damian Jones now completed, details are trickling out about negotiations for these players prior. In Vanderbilt’s case, the Boston Celtics were not involved due to Danny Ainge’s high asking price.
Ainge has been a mastermind in the past rebuilding teams, with his finest work being the one-year break from the postseason in 2014 the mid-2010s Celtics had. Utah is his latest reclamation project, and he did a good job clearing their books in the future and add a 15th pick between now and 2029.
The reason he has done so well is because of his strong negotiating tactics. MassLive’s Brian Robb revealed that intel on a fireworks-filled February 8 pre-deadline evening:
"“Boston has been searching for a backup big but league sources indicated the team was not high on Vanderbilt as a target based on the Jazz asking price.”"
The Boston Celtics have sights set on bigger target
As it turns out, the Boston Celtics are after Jakob Poeltl after all. It was thought that they might back off in a pursuit of the Spurs pivot, but he was the subject of trade rumors involving a Celtics trade package that would include Payton Pritchard and Danilo Gallinari. Marc Stein reported that Poeltl is very available:
Throughout the past month-plus, it has been said often that the Spurs were reluctant to trade Jakob Poeltl. Over the past 24 hours, though, that tone has been replaced by the strongest signals to date that San Antonio is prepared to move him before Thursday's 3 PM ET deadline.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 9, 2023
Even if Poeltl ends up on the Raptors as has been reported is possible given Toronto and San Antonio’s trade talks, the Celtics have their eyes set on a veteran difference-maker at the deadline.