After completing the Grant Williams sign-and-trade, the Boston Celtics now have a $6.2 million trade exception at their disposal. With that asset, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston floated one of the Celtics’ playoff rivals as a trade option for them with the trade exception – Saddiq Bey.
Forsberg explained why the Atlanta Hawks could look into trading Bey while adding why the Celtics could use someone like Bey.
“The 24-year-old Bey is entering the final year of his rookie pact, which might at least entice the Hawks to consider trade possibilities and keep the price tag relatively low. Alas, the Hawks are also thinner at the power forward spot after finally moving John Collins.
“Bey would offer Boston a 2020 do-over after the Celtics chose Aaron Nesmith with Bey still on the board (he went 19th to Detroit). Bey shot 40 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in 25 games with the Hawks last season and is at 36 percent for his career. Boston could use a little bit of his Villanova grit given its offseason departures,” Forsberg wrote.
Bey will make $4.5 million for the 2023-24 season and will enter the season in the last year of his rookie contract.
Insider Floats Kelly Oubre Jr. as Grant Williams’ Replacement
The Celtics’ three-man frontcourt rotation is projected to be Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III, but they could still use more bodies in that department. Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer floated NBA Free Agent Kelly Oubre Jr. as someone they could potentially go after.
“Thinking about the Celtics and the fact that, yeah, they do kind of have an opening in the frontcourt,” Fischer said during an appearance on the July 8 episode of “The NBA Front Office Podcast.” “But [Oubre] can be a small-ball four; I would say all three of [Boston’s bigs] are centers at this point. Al Horford’s shooting is interesting enough where you’re able to play him and Rob the other, but Boston would make some sense to me for him.”
Keith Smith, one of the podcast’s cohosts, agreed, saying, “Oubre, basically anybody who needs a wing, he’s got to be at the top of their list.”
Oubre’s claim to fame in the NBA is his ability to score, as he’s coming off a season in which he averaged 20.3 points a game with the Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics already have second unit scoring with Malcolm Brogdon, but they could use more with Danilo Gallinari also gone.
Celtics Attended Workout for John Wall: Report
On July 9, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reported that the Celtics were among the teams who attended a private workout for John Wall, a free agent who was waived by the Houston Rockets in February.
“Veteran point guard John Wall held a private workout on Sunday with multiple teams — including the Boston Celtics and Portland Trailblazers — in attendance. The five-time All-Star is ramping up efforts in hopes of a return to the NBA,” Iko tweeted.
Wall is not the player he was during his heyday with the Washington Wizards, but the Celtics could use another playmaker on the roster with Marcus Smart gone too.
Comments
Celtics Playoff Rival Floated as Trade Target With New Trade Exception