{"id":63426,"date":"2024-02-07T15:35:33","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=63426"},"modified":"2024-02-07T15:49:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:49:15","slug":"nba-news-boston-celtics-trade-for-memphis-grizzlies-big-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/07\/nba-news-boston-celtics-trade-for-memphis-grizzlies-big-man\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA News: Boston Celtics Trade for Memphis Grizzlies Big Man"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ESPN&#8217;s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that the Boston Celtics have made a trade to acquire Memphis Grizzlies big man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tillmxa01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Xavier Tillman<\/a> one day before the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline. For Tillman, the Celtics traded a 2027 second-round pick via the Atlanta Hawks and a 2030 second-round pick via the Dallas Mavericks. Additionally, the Celtics are <a href=\"https:\/\/hoopshype.com\/rumor\/2666639\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">also sending forward<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stevela01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lamar Stevens<\/a> to the Grizzlies.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Memphis Grizzlies are trading F\/C Xavier Tillman to the Boston Celtics for two second-round picks, sources tell ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1755313730106085606?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, reports suggested the Celtics <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/05\/nba-rumors-celtics-interested-in-wide-range-of-trade-targets-kelly-olynyk-andre-drummond-delon-wright\/\" target=\"_self\">had shown interest<\/a> in other big men, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/o\/olynyke01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kelly Olynyk<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/drumman01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andre Drummond<\/a>. Currently, it is likely, but not confirmed, that the Tillman trade will force the Celtics to drop out of those sweepstakes.<\/p>\n<p>Per Jake Fischer, the Celtics &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/hoopshype.com\/rumor\/2666642\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">had been the team most connected to<\/a>&#8221; the 25-year-old big man:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Boston had been the team most connected to Xavier Tillman, if he was unable to find an extension with Memphis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>After four seasons with the Grizzlies, Tillman&#8217;s rookie contract will expire at the end of the season. This likely played a major role in Memphis&#8217; decision to trade him.<\/p>\n<p>This season, Tillman is averaging 6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Additionally, the big man is shooting 40.8% from the field, including 22.6% from the three-point line.<\/p>\n<p>Tillman figures to act as insurance behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/porzikr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kristaps Porzingis<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/horfoal01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Al Horford<\/a>. Whether Tillman will overtake <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kornelu01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luke Kornet<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/q\/quetane01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-02-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Neemias Queta<\/a> in the rotation for the 38-12 Celtics remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<h2>NBA News: Boston Celtics Trade for Memphis Grizzlies Big Man<\/h2>\n<h3>What Xavier Tillman Brings to Boston<\/h3>\n<p>Though he is capable of playing the center position pretty well, Tillman is a much better fit at the power forward spot at 6&#8217;8&#8243;. However, Tillman is a very tenacious and tough player, something the Celtics always value. Additionally, Tillman is a good rebounder, but he does not excel at grabbing boards. All that said, Tillman&#8217;s true value comes on the defensive end.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">7th percentile on offense<br \/>\n99th percentile on defense<\/p>\n<p>xavier tillman is basically a brawler <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/41JgXsFwn8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/41JgXsFwn8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 brad auerbach (@CelticsPost) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CelticsPost\/status\/1755322348369027308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Tillman is a versatile defender who can guard in the paint and a bit on the perimeter. His playstyle should complement Porzingis and Horford, both guys who are more perimeter-oriented players for the Celtics.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">X is one of 14 players (min. 25 GP) averaging at least a steal &amp; a block, and is the only player doing it in under 25 minutes a game.<\/p>\n<p>If he can score even a little bit &#8212; the screening is already good, don&#8217;t know how many 3s he&#8217;ll take in BOS &#8212; this move should HIT.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NekiasNBA\/status\/1755315789677109293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word on the Xavier Tillman Trade<\/h3>\n<p>Considering the Celtics have limited trade assets and cap space, this seems like a fantastic move for the team. Acquiring Tillman strengthens their already elite defense. Plus, at 25 years old, Tillman can fit the team&#8217;s timeline if they extend him beyond this season. This trade seems like a very low-risk, high-reward move for the Celtics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ESPN&#8217;s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that the Boston Celtics have made a trade to acquire Memphis Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman one day before the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline. For Tillman, the Celtics traded a 2027 second-round pick via the Atlanta Hawks and a 2030 second-round pick via the Dallas Mavericks. Additionally, the Celtics [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4631,"featured_media":63430,"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":[5,1608,2,32,62,3],"tags":[250,341,517,138,2552,1776,1382,662,4108,1151],"class_list":["post-63426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celtics","category-basketball","category-featured","category-grizzlies","category-nba","category-news","tag-al-horford","tag-andre-drummond","tag-kelly-olynyk","tag-kristaps-porzingis","tag-lamar-stevens","tag-luke-kornet","tag-nba-trade","tag-nba-trade-deadline","tag-neemias-queta","tag-xavier-tillman"],"modified_by":"Elie Deglaoui","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63426","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\/4631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}