We are now within a month of the NBA’s official trade deadline for the 2022-23 NBA season, with the big day coming on Thursday, Feb. 9 with all deals called in to the league office by 3 pm in order to be completed.
And with each day that passes that gets us closer to that day, new projections about what the Boston Celtics and the other 29 teams around the league might try to make happen on the trade market to set themselves up for the future. Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report put together an updated list of potential trade targets for the Celtics and the rest of the league to such an end.
Let’s take a look at who he thinks Boston ought to make calls about, and see if we agree.
Mo Bamba - Orlando Magic - center
“Bamba brings floor-spacing and shot blocking,” writes Swartz, which are two things Boston could definitely use in its big man rotation.
However, he also brings a $10.3 million salary that will make the Magic center hard to trade for with the contracts and assets on Boston’s roster.
Kenrich Williams - Oklahoma City Thunder - forward
“Williams can defend multiple positions and is shooting 43.1% from 3,” suggests the B/R analyst.
He would be a good fit for a high-usage bench option who is a bit old for OKC’s age curve, and makes just $2 million this season. Would the Thunder part with his deal for the right asset?
Zach Collins - San Antonio Spurs - forward/center
“Collins is having a sneaky-good season,” writes Swartz of the oft-injured big man, and at 6-foot-11 with his 3-ball going in 36.5% of the time this season, Collins might make a lot of sense for the Celtics if available.
Will the Spurs want to deal him given he is just 25 and young enough to be a good player on the other side of that team’s rebuild?
Our pick
We think that while Williams might be the more likely option for Boston in terms of salary and availability, Collins is the better fit.
If there was a trade that might involve some of Boston’s stashed guards in Europe (Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin) or perhaps JD Davison plus seconds or maybe even Payton Pritchard, we think such a move might make sense for the Celtics and Spurs both.
But given there’s a great chance San Antonio would prefer to hang on to Collins barring a major offer in terms of draft capital, we’d be very happy with a deal bringing on the Thunder forward.
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