Getty Ex-Celtics center Tristan Thompson.
Six months ago, the Boston Celtics shipped then-starter Tristan Thompson to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade with the Atlanta Hawks. On Tuesday, February 8, the veteran big man was used as collateral in yet another trade. This time, to help the Kings lure a 25-year-old two-time All-Star to Sactown.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Kings are sending Thompson and the guard duo of Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for center/forward Domantas Sabonis, wings Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday, and a 2027 second-round pick.
Thompson Joins 4th Team in 3 Years
Thompson, 30, appeared in 30 games (six starts) for the Kings this season, averaging 6.2 points and 5.4 rebounds. This is the first year since 2015 that the former No. 4 overall pick hasn’t served as a primary starter. In 2020-21, Thompson started 43 of 54 games for the Celtics — his lone season in Boston — averaging 7.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest.
Prior to his arrival in Beantown, Thompson was riding back-to-back campaigns of averaging a double-double. Now in Indiana, he’ll immediately look to factor into the Pacers’ frontcourt which is ailing from Myles Turner’s injury (foot) and Sabonis’ sudden departure.
Celtics Players in Potential Deal for Newly-Moved Wing?
The Kings and Pacers six-player, one draft pick trade is one of two “blockbusters” to already go down ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. The other deal was a 7-player trade that saw the Portland Trail Blazers break up their star-studded backcourt by sending guard CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.
In return for McCollum’s services, the Blazers received the likes of Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, a Pels’ 2022 first-round pick (protected) and two future second-rounders. The former, a rising 26-year-old wing in the midst of a career season, had been previously linked to the Celtics as a potential trade candidate. However, just because Hart has found a new home for now doesn’t mean the dream of him one day donning green and white can’t be around the corner.
The one name that is likely to be drawing plenty of more interest in the coming days is Hart. The veteran guard is on an affordable contract ($11 million) which is not guaranteed beyond next season. The Blazers have been in the market of clearing cap room with their dealing of McCollum, Norm Powell and Robert Covington so it’s highly possible that they could look to add some more draft assets now (without taking back long-term money) and give up Hart.
While the Celtics’ have shown interest in Hart in the past, it’s unlikely they would be willing to take his deal now into their Evan Fournier traded player exception since it would push them heavily into the luxury tax. If Boston manages to clear more salary, they could offer Portland a pick for Hart or some matching salary but the Blazers will probably be able to field better offers for him elsewhere given the glut of teams searching for upgrades.
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