Getty Malik Beasley, Boston Celtics
Twenty-second, that’s where the Boston Celtics rank for three-point percentage after 52 regular-season games.
This is the same Celtics team that boasts All-Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and who can forget “best shooter in the 2020 draft” Aaron Nesmith. Yet, for a reason unbeknown to most of us, the Celtics can’t find a rhythm from beyond the arc this season.
No wonder so many fans and analysts are calling for the Celtics front office to trade for an additional shooter. According to The Atheltic’s Jared Weiss, Boston has been active in searching for additional perimeter scoring, even entering into discussions with the Minnesota Timberwolves over a potential deal for Malik Beasley.
“Boston explored a deal that would send Josh Richardson and one of either Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith to Minnesota for Malik Beasley, but Minnesota was not interested at the time as they sought to maintain flexibility for bigger moves at the deadline, sources told both myself and The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski,” Weiss wrote in a recent article.
Currently, Boston is jacking up 36.4 threes per game but converting 12.4 of them, and for a team with aspirations of a deep playoff run, those numbers need some serious work. Unfortunately, it seems the Celtics will need to look elsewhere for new additions, as the Timberwolves, like Boston, are eager to remain flexible with their cap space moving forwards.
Beasley Is a Legitimate Three-Point Threat
The 2020-21 season allowed us to see the best of Malik Beasley’s shooting ability, with the 6-foot-4 wing hitting 39.9% of his 8.7 attempts per game before his season was cut short.
Of course, last season’s numbers come courtesy of limited sample size, as Beasley only participated in 37 of Minnesota’s regular-season games, 36 of which were as a starter. However, Beasley’s numbers from last year weren’t a stroke of luck; this is the same player who’s averaging 37.8% from deep over his eight years in the NBA, on a career average of five attempts per game per Basketball-Reference.
Malik Beasley : 26 points on 9-18 shooting, 4-10 from 3 & 4-4 from the FT line in 28 minutes off the bench
Beasley has participated in 308 NBA games so far in his career, with only 72 of them coming as a starter, so he should have no problem adapting to a bench role should he ever join the Celtics. Furthermore, during his time with the Timberwolves, the Georgia native has played alongside a plethora of young talent – something he would likely be asked to do in Boston, at least for the remainder of this season.
In terms of finances, Beasley is currently earning $14.4 million this season and will see his salary slightly increase next year to $15.4 million. Another enticing aspect to the sharpshooter’s contract is that the final year of his deal, worth $16.5 million, is a team option, providing the Celtics with some cap flexibility as Brown enters the last year of his contract, per Spotrac.
Back to the Drawing Board for Boston
With Beasley seemingly off the table, the Celtics will need to get back to the drawing board as they pursue an upgrade in perimeter shooting. However, there are not many reliable shooters currently being mooted as potential trade targets for the Celtics, at least none that seem attainable.
One player that made a ton of sense in terms of ability, salary, and availability was Bryn Forbes of the San Antonio Spurs. Still, he changed teams as part of the Juancho Hernangomez three-team deal in mid-January.
Denver, Boston and San Antonio are making a three-way trade that includes Juancho Hernangomez to Spurs, Bryn Forbes to Denver, Bol Bol and PJ Dozier to Celtics, sources tell ESPN.
Of course, guys like Norman Powell of the Portland Trail Blazers or Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings are still consistently being linked to a potential switch. Yet, there’s little reporting to support the notion that either team is currently open to trading one of their better shooters. And everybody would love for Boston to get their hands on Duncan Robinson of the Miami Heat, but his new contract and importance to Miami ensure that dream remains dead in the water.
If the Celtics are dead-set on adding some more firepower to their roster, they have just over a week to do so, as the February 10 trade deadline is fast approaching, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that Josh Richardson and Dennis Schroder are the two guys Boston view as their best trade chips to get a deal over the line.