What are analysts predicting for the Boston Celtics at the 2023 NBA trade deadline?
According to Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, the answer is a big man. The B/R NBA analyst sees the Celtics pursuing frontcourt depth with a combination of their second-round picks and the contract of reserve guard Payton Pritchard. Noting that the frontcourt has availability issues due to Robert Williams III being “no stranger to injury” and Al Horford being, well, 36.
“That the Celtics have needed to rely semi-meaningfully on Luke Kornet, at all, is unsettling when projecting past the regular season,” Favale observes fairly. “Let’s go ahead and assume they scoop up another big at the deadline to fortify their front line.”
“It won’t be a major-ish acquisition in the vein of Jakob Poeltl that necessitates the inclusion of a 2025 first-rounder,” he suggests. “It probably won’t even be a deal that sees them use their $5.9 million traded player exception (expires Feb. 10) without jettisoning other money in the process.”
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“But it will be a move that sees them use some combination of Pritchard, Danilo Gallinari’s contract (2023-24 player option), and second-rounders to reel in someone like Naz Reid, Mason Plumlee or Isaiah Hartenstein.”
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