The Boston Celtics aren’t going to be too busy this season when it comes to the trade market. Their core is locked in place, and since they are a second-apron team, they can’t combine salaries in a deal. So unless they decide to move off of one of their rotation guys (which they won’t), Boston will stay pretty quiet.
However, just because the Celtics won’t be making a huge splash doesn’t mean they won’t do anything. If nothing else, they could look to cut down on their tax bill by trading someone at the end of the bench. And while that may be as simple as dumping the player, they could also try to get someone else back in return.
But the Los Angeles Lakers just stole one of the few players who made sense as a potential Celtics trade target.
Shake Milton made sense as Celtics trade target, but Lakers stole him
The most likely player to be traded by the Celtics this year is Jaden Springer. He makes just over $4 million and hasn’t been a part of Boston’s rotation this season. That means the Celtics could add someone who makes less than Springer in a deal (or just dump him).
Guys like Daniel Theis and Torrey Craig make sense if the Celtics wanted to add a big or wing, but if they wanted to swap out Springer for another guard, Shake Milton would have been a very intriguing target.
On the How ‘Bout Them Celtics podcast, we discussed the potential addition of Milton, and it made sense because of how well he has been shooting the ball this season. In 27 games for the Nets this year, Milton has shot 38.9% from three on 2.7 attempts per game.
Plus, Milton is under contract for two more years after this one, meaning the Celtics would have some trade flexibility in the coming years.
For both of those reasons, Milton could have been an interesting guy for the Celtics to go after, but that’s no longer an option.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers have completed a trade with the Nets, shipping out D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks to Brooklyn in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Milton.
Now, the Lakers will get to utilize Milton’s three-point shooting and ball-handling, and the Celtics will be left to consider other options on the trade market.
Maybe the Celtics were never even considering Milton, but he made sense as a target. Now, he’s not one.