Getty Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens.
In a December 31 Boston Globe story, Adam Himmelsbach wrote about 11 things Boston Celtics fans should keep their eyes on. Ranked no. 5 was former top-10 pick Noah Vonleh, who Himmelsbach believes the Celtics will waive before the deadline to fully guarantee his deal.
“The veteran big man’s deal will become fully guaranteed if he is not waived before Jan. 7. After getting a few opportunities early in the season, he was passed on the depth chart by Luke Kornet, and now Robert Williams’s return has reduced his value even more. Look for Vonleh to be waived to give the Celtics extra flexibility at the trade deadline and in the ensuing buyout market,” Himmelsbach said.
Vonleh has played in 21 games for the Celtics this season, where he has averaged 1.2 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 25 percent from three. While Vonleh has been put in for mostly garbage time minutes over the past several weeks, the Celtics relied on him in their frontcourt rotation early on, as Himmelsbach said. This led to him getting minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat in the first two games of the season while then starting against the Orlando Magic.
NOAH VONLEH HAS ARRIVED
The last time Vonleh played double-digit minutes was against the Detroit Pistons on November 12.
There’s Been ‘Suggestion’ of Possible Payton Pritchard Trade
At no. 4, Himmelsbach previewed what the Celtics may do at the trade deadline on February 9. More specifically, he delved into what the Celtics may do with Payton Pritchard.
“There’s been some suggestion that the team should consider dealing Payton Pritchard, a valuable piece late last season who has fallen back out of the rotation. But Pritchard is just 24, and Boston is just one injury away from needing him. For the Celtics, the biggest part of deadline day will be seeing if fellow contenders meaningfully fortify their rosters,” Himmelsbach said.
He also said that it would be hard to imagine the Celtics trading for anyone who could improve what they already have.
“It’s hard to envision a trade the Celtics could make that would truly upgrade their rotation. Also, they traded their 2023 first-round pick in the Malcolm Brogdon deal.”
Outside of Robert Williams’ missing the majority of their games this season and Al Horford missing back-to-backs, the Celtics have been mostly healthy this season. Despite his reputation for being injury-prone, Brogdon has played 30 of the Celtics’ 36 games. Still, Pritchard is a valuable ace in the hole in case the Celtics’ injury luck changes for the worse.
Celtics’ Current Assets
If the Celtics decide they need to upgrade from the roster they have now, they have multiple trade exceptions in their arsenal that they can use, such as the following:
-$6.9 million Juancho Hernangomez TPE
-$5.9 million Dennis Schroder TPE
-$2.1 million Bol Bol TPE
-$1.9 million PJ Dozier TPE
-$1.8 million Bruno Fernando TPE
-$1.7 million Enes Freedom TPE
The Hernangomez exception expires on January 19, while all the others expire on February 10. The Celtics also have the $3.2 million Disabled Player Exception they received from the league following Danilo Gallinari’s ACL tear in August. They can use that to sign someone outright via free agency, which will come in handy when players get bought out midseason.
Besides Vonleh, Justin Jackson is also playing on a nonguaranteed contract. If the Celtics believe they can improve their rotation, both could potentially get waived to make room for hypothetical improvements.