Celtics ‘Shopping List’ Includes Trade for 22-Year-Old Former Top-10 Pick: Analyst

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Atlanta Hawks wing Cam Reddish.

Despite a drastic overhaul this offseason, and two of the league’s premier 25-and-under talents at their disposal, the Boston Celtics still waver around a .500 record as we near November. The disappointing efforts could theoretically entice president Brad Stevens to swing for the fences at this year’s deadline. However, as Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley highlighted, the current landscape of Boston’s coaching staff and roster likely bodes itself to smaller-scale moves.

“Ime Udoka is only two months into his debut season from the best seat on the sideline, plus the Shamrocks probably can’t net a needle-mover without breaking apart the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown tandem, and it’s still too early to pull the plug,” he wrote.

However, just because the Celtics might not land themselves a bonafide superstar prior to February 10, doesn’t mean they can’t add some intriguing talent into the fold. With trade season at full-fledge, Buckley spotlights Atlanta Hawks forward Cam Reddish as a player who should be atop the C’s “shopping list.”

“Boston’s budget could be large enough to land Cam Reddish, though, and he could instantly sharpen the wing rotation around the All-Stars while also brightening the franchise’s future,” noted Buckley. “He can handle a three-and-D role, and there have been enough flashes of shot-creation to think he can grow beyond that label.”

Cost to Pry Reddish From Atlanta

Reddish would certainly add some pop to Boston’s lineup. The former top-10 pick is scoring at a career-best rate, shooting 40.6% from the field and 37.7% from beyond the arc — an 11.5% jump from a season ago. This, despite the fact that he’s seen his usage dip by nearly seven minutes per game from his 2020-21 average.

With a crowded slew of wings at their disposal, Atlanta has seemingly become less bullish on needing to keep Reddish around for the long haul.

According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, “the Hawks have been searching around the league for a first-round pick,” in return for Reddish. The good news for Atlanta is that the 22-year-old Pennsylvania native appears to be fairly sought after. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on December 13 that “rival teams are expressing interest” in the Hawks swingman.

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Could De’Andre Hunter, Not Reddish, Have Boston’s Eye?

As Charania notes, Reddish isn’t the lone Hawks wing that could be on the move over the next month-plus. The NBA insider reported that “some rival executives” believe Atlanta would entertain calls on De’Andre Hunter “packages that would return an established impact veteran — something to keep in mind if Boston were to ever truly explore moving Jaylen Brown, an Atlanta native.”

Of course, this is where things get questionable — and doubtful. Despite mounds of speculation that the Celtics could separate their Brown-Tatum pairing, no internal noise other than Boston viewing Brown as untouchable has surfaced over the past two years.

The 24-year-old Hunter, who is a year younger than Brown, is eligible for a contract extension this offseason. This year, he’s seen his points (10.8) and rebounds (2.7) take a fairly sizeable dip. However, much like Reddish, he’s knocked down his shot selection with more consistency, connecting on a career-best 39.5% of his 3-point attempts.

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