The Boston Celtics had a relatively quiet trade deadline. Their only move consisted of sending Jaden Springer and a second-round pick to the Houston Rockets, getting his salary off their books. Houston has since waived Springer, and the Celtics still have some work to do.
By moving Springer, Boston’s roster now sits at 13 players, meaning they have to sign at least one player to be in roster compliance, as the NBA’s minimum is 14. They have a bunch of options available to them, including simply elevating one of their two-way guys—JD Davison, Drew Peterson, or Anton Watson—into the open spot.
But Brad Stevens just revealed Boston’s next plan.
Brad Stevens says the Celtics will look to sign a wing
According to Stevens, who spoke with reporters ahead of the Celtics’ Thursday night game against the Dallas Mavericks (and right after the trade deadline), Boston plans on trying to sign a wing to their roster.
“I think the first thing that we’ll look to do is bring in a wing,” Stevens said via a video from Justin Turpin of WEEI.
As it stands, the Celtics’ wing depth behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown consists of Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, Drew Peterson, and Baylor Scheierman. However, Hauser may be better categorized as a forward, and the rest of that group is extremely inexperienced.
Peterson could still be the guy that Stevens was referencing, as he’s earned some opportunities with the big club this year, despite being on a two-way contract and having spent most of the season in the G League with the Maine Celtics.
That said, there are plenty of other options the Celtics could have available to them as the buyout market begins to shake out and players start looking around for their new home.
Josh Richardson, who was moved by the Miami Heat in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, was recently waived. He could be a potential target for Boston if both sides are interested in a reunion.
Lonnie Walker IV could be another option for Boston. He’s currently playing overseas in Lithuania but has an NBA buyout clause. Oshae Brissett and Torrey Craig are a couple of other options, but they play the forward more than the wing.
Regardless of who the Celtics decide to target, Stevens quite literally revealed their game plan post-trade deadline. They clearly don’t see their wing depth as strong enough or, at the very least, want extra guys to take the load off of Brown and Tatum during the regular season.