After a disappointing end to their season, the Boston Celtics have some big decisions to make this summer. Well, sort of. Essentially they have one decision to make, it’s just a big one.
Do they continue forward with the same nucleus, or reshape the roster?
Well, it sounds like the Cs have at least some interest in shaking things up. According to MassLive’s Brian Robb, they’ve been “one of the more active teams” in trade talks leading up to the June 22 NBA Draft.
“A league source tells MassLive that the Celtics have been one of the more active teams in the league in trade talks ahead of Thursday’s draft,” Robb wrote. “Boston only holds the No. 35 overall pick but the team is looking at making potential tweaks to the supporting cast around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics are particularly loaded in the backcourt with Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, and Payton Pritchard all under contract for next season and the team is investigating moving a guard to improve other areas of the roster per a league source.”
Of course, there have been previous reports that Pritchard has made it known that he’d like to be traded this summer, after a season that he spent primarily on the bench. A trade involving the former-Oregon standout likely wouldn’t be lucrative for Boston. They’d probably net a second-round pick, or perhaps use him as part of a larger trade package.
Boston Celtics predicted to Trade Malcolm Brogdon
This now marks back-to-back days where an insider has teased the possibility of a Celtics guard being dealt. On June 14, The Athletic’s Jay King predicted that Brogdon would be the one being shipped out in the offseason.
“The Celtics would still miss Brogdon, but he should have value around the league after staying healthy through most of a productive season,” King wrote. “It could be helpful to move off his contract, which still includes two more years at $22.5 million per season. They could do it as a salary dump of sorts to position themselves better for the impact of the new collective bargaining agreement or as a trade piece to acquire a different type of player.”
Boston Celtics have called Detroit Pistons about Isaiah Stewart trade: Report
Robb’s report made it’s way around Twitter in the hours after it was shared. Of those circulating the news was The Athletic’s James Edwards III, who revealed that the Celtics had been calling up the Detroit Pistons.
Apparently, Boston is interested, or at least was, in Isaiah Stewart, a 22-year-old center.
Heard they — and others — made calls to Detroit asking about Isaiah Stewart. I don’t see the Pistons moving Beef Stew. At all. https://t.co/V6c10Xw0Y8
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) June 15, 2023
However, according to Edwards, Detroit isn’t all that interested in moving on from the big man.
Stewart appeared in 50 games for the Pistons this season, playing about 28.3 minutes each time. He was good for an average of 11.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 44.2% from the field and 32.7% from beyond the arc.