{"id":60044,"date":"2023-12-21T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T17:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=60044"},"modified":"2023-12-20T22:19:46","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T03:19:46","slug":"boston-celtics-trade-targets-alex-caruso-andre-drummond-isaiah-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/12\/21\/boston-celtics-trade-targets-alex-caruso-andre-drummond-isaiah-stewart\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Trade Targets for The Boston Celtics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Celtics are off to another hot start this season with a 20-6 record Boston is currently the top seed in the East. With a strong start and a loaded roster, the Celtics are poised to make a run at the title. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/12\/09\/nba-rumors-celtics-expected-to-be-active-at-trade-deadline-what-do-they-need\/\" target=\"_self\">according to multiple reports<\/a>, the front office has made it clear that they won\u2019t settle and will remain active as the trade deadline approaches. With <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willigr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grant Williams<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0being dealt to the Mavericks in the off-season the Celtics opened up a 6.2 million traded player expectation. This traded player expectation or TPE for short gives the Celtics a clear avenue to improve their roster despite their large payroll. Here are three players the Celtics can target with Grant\u2019s TPE or other moveable pieces.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Shams Charania expects the Celtics to be \u201cactive\u201d at the NBA trade deadline <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5T0ZTc1p72\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/5T0ZTc1p72<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SInow\/status\/1732161707567456410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 5, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>3 Trade Targets for The Boston Celtics<\/h2>\n<h3>Isaiah Stewart: Detroit Pistons Forward\/Center<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stewais01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah Stewart<\/a><\/strong> is a name that\u2019s been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/sports\/boston-celtics\/2023\/12\/18\/boston-celtics-trade-rumors-detroit-pistons-isaiah-stewart\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">linked<\/a> to the Celtics in recent weeks and it makes a lot of sense fit-wise. Stewart is a great rebounder and hard-nosed defender. Additionally, Stewart is shooting a career-best 36% from beyond the arc. This skill set makes him an ideal backup big man for the Celtics. Improving their depth and providing needed insurance for both <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/porzikr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kristaps Porzingis<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/horfoal01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Al Horford<\/a><\/strong> in the process.<\/p>\n<p>However, Stewart is under a \u201cPoison Pill Provision\u201d restriction meaning the Celtics would have to send out 13 million dollars in salary to make a deal work. Given the Celtics&#8217; cap space situation, they would have to part ways with a plethora of deep-rotation players to make a deal possible. As a result, Stewart is an intriguing yet likely unrealistic target for the Celtics. Ultimately, it would take a lot of salary maneuvering and possible draft incentives to make this deal work. But Stewart is arguably the best fit on the market for Boston\u2019s needs so he\u2019s worth pursuing despite the difficulty surrounding his contract.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Stewart is an interesting trade target for Boston. He&#39;d be a great addition.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge? He&#39;s PPP restricted (Poison Pill Provision). That means trading for him is difficult. Boston would have to match over $13M in salary to bring him in. That&#39;s tricky for the Celtics. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Sx4pItxwUU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/Sx4pItxwUU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KeithSmithNBA\/status\/1736758318184460588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 18, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Andre Drummond: Chicago Bulls Center<\/h3>\n<p>A Bulls <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/11\/11\/nba-rumors-teams-monitoring-the-potential-downfall-of-the-bulls\/\" target=\"_self\">fire sale<\/a> is likely at the deadline and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/drumman01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andre Drummond<\/a><\/strong> could be available at a bargain price. Drummond\u2019s 3 million dollar contract would fit under the Celtics\u2019 TPE and Boston would likely not have to give up anything else. Drummond can provide a valuable role for the Celtics as a rotational big. Providing Boston with more size and rebounding off the bench. Drummond provides a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/11\/28\/neemias-queta-celtics-rotation\/\" target=\"_self\">similar role<\/a> to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/q\/quetane01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Neemias Queta<\/a><\/strong> but has far more experience making him a better playoff option. Furthermore, Boston needs all the big man depth they can get given Porzingis\u2019 injury history and Horford\u2019s age. A Drummond acquisition doesn\u2019t necessarily move the needle. But it would be a solid pick-up to round out the roster nonetheless, especially at a cheap cost. Drummond is a great alternative if Boston can&#8217;t land a player like Stewart.<\/p>\n<h3>Alex Caruso: Chicago Bulls Guard<\/h3>\n<p>In this move, the Celtics would be doubling down on their elite perimeter defense. Pairing <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carusal01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Caruso<\/a><\/strong> with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday <\/a><\/strong>and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/whitede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derrick White<\/a> <\/strong>would give the Celtics three all-defensive guards. Creating one of the most lethal perimeter defenses the league has ever seen in the process. However, Caruso is expected to be a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/11\/19\/chicago-bulls-trade\/\" target=\"_self\">hot commodity<\/a> on the trade market and his 9 million dollar contract is just above the TPE threshold. Nevertheless, a move is still possible for the Celtics.<\/p>\n<p>The framework would involve the Celtics parting ways with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/pritcpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Payton Pritchard,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brissos01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oshae Brissett<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kornelu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luke Kornet<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0and some package of picks. It\u2019s unclear how many picks the Bulls are asking for Caruso. But given his league-wide value, especially as a defender it\u2019s safe to assume the Celtics would have to part ways with at least a first-round pick. Brad Stevens has shown to be aggressive and proven he is not afraid to part with picks. If Stevens views Caruso as a piece that could swing the title for Boston don\u2019t be surprised if he makes a big move to land him.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>Ultimately these trade possibilities are intriguing options for the Celtics at the deadline. The Celtics don\u2019t need another big trade to win the title and this roster can certainly win a title. However, improving and rounding out the roster is never a bad thing. While Stewart and Caruso would raise Boston\u2019s upside, Drummond is a safe move to perfect the roster. As the trade deadline inches closer I would expect the Celtics to make some kind of move to upgrade the roster. It\u2019s unclear what caliber player Boston will target however they have a surprising amount of options given their lack of cap space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Celtics are off to another hot start this season with a 20-6 record Boston is currently the top seed in the East. With a strong start and a loaded roster, the Celtics are poised to make a run at the title. However, according to multiple reports, the front office has made it clear that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4779,"featured_media":60081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1608,2,62],"tags":[2037,341,4195,2380],"class_list":["post-60044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celtics","category-basketball","category-featured","category-nba","tag-alex-caruso","tag-andre-drummond","tag-celtics-featured","tag-isaiah-stewart"],"modified_by":"Zach Kircher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}