After the trade deadline, the Boston Celtics had some work to do. They traded Jaden Springer and a second-round pick to the Houston Rockets in a deal that was clearly a salary dump for the C’s. They wanted to get some money off the books, and they were willing to pay the Rockets a second-rounder in order to do so.
On the night of the deadline, the Celtics signed Torrey Craig to a contract, filling their 14th roster spot, just as Brad Stevens said they’d do. “We have 13 guys right now,” Stevens said via Brian Robb of MassLive. “We’ll probably do something with the 14th [spot] relatively soon, and then we’ll take our time with the 15th and really assess our health and needs and those types of things as we go on.”
But now, their decisions become murky.
Celtics next move after Torrey Craig signing is up in the air
Before the Celtics signed Craig, it seemed likely that Boston would simply convert one of their two-way guys—JD Davison, Drew Peterson, or Anton Watson—to a standard deal. That’s what they did last year with Neemias Queta in order to fill their 15th roster spot.
Perhaps that’s what they’ll do this year, too. Maybe they’ll reward Davison’s efforts for the past few years with a contract. Or maybe Peterson’s deal will get upgraded, as he’s earned some extra opportunities this season.
However, while that seemed to be the obvious direction Boston would go in, their signing of Craig makes it a bit more questionable. Stevens spoke about their willingness to assess their roster, look at the buyout market, and go from there.
That willingness, paired with the fact that they already signed Craig from free agency, makes their next move less obvious than ever. They already proved that they’re open to dipping into the buyout market, so now, there’s a chance they could do it again.
Sure, Davison and Peterson still make solid options, but there are also some free agents who could make sense for the Celtics to target.
Trading Springer means they could use an extra guard on the roster, and if they aren’t confident in Davison, someone like Reggie Jackson or Josh Richardson could make sense. They’d provide Boston will some additional ball-handling.
The Celtics have been running a lot of double-big lineups this year, so maybe they want to bring in another center, especially since Xavier Tillman isn’t giving them much. If that’s the case, someone like Mo Bamba or PJ Tucker (if he gets bought out) could be options.
Regardless, there’s no telling what the Celtics could do next.