Entering Sunday’s matinee match-up with the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics bear the look of a broken team. After losing four of their last five games to drop to eighth place in the Eastern Conference at 20-21, the Celtics have been subjected to major criticism in the media as well as their own locker room.
“I think we need to be more engaged in each other,” coach Brad Stevens said following his squad’s latest loss to the Sacramento Kings.
“I think teams are fragile things, and guys are trying, and they’re all really good guys trying, but sometimes even when you’re giving good effort or you have a group of possessions that go pretty well, five guys engaged does a lot. And we just haven’t had that recently. And that’s, that’s concerning.”
Through the good times and the bad this season, one thing has proven to be abundantly clear — the Celtics can’t achieve their once lofty goals as currently constituted. So, with the NBA trade deadline just days away, a plethora of names have been floated as potential trade targets.
Over the weekend, Charlotte Hornets guard Devonte Graham was suggested as a player who could help the team’s questionable offensive flow.
Devonte Graham’s Fit in Boston
Graham was most recently proposed as a possibility by Celtics Wire/USA Today’s Justin Quinn. As noted in his write-up, Boston is woefully devoid of playmakers behind All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. As a result, the team’s ball movement has left a lot to be desired at times.
Ahead of their bout with the Magic, the Celtics ranked 28th in the Association in assist percentage at 54.5. Meanwhile, the team’s assists-to-turnover ratio of 1.6 was sixth-worst league-wide.
Those numbers are made worse by the fact that the Celtics haven’t been much better when playing the isolation game. As of this writing, the team is in just the 21st percentile in iso situations.
Clearly, the ball needs to move more and Graham could help facilitate that. As tracked by Basketball-Reference, he posted an assist percentage of 35.3 last season; the ninth-best mark in the NBA.
That number is down as his role has changed this season, but he still continues to drop 6.2 dimes per 36 minutes. Moreover, he has dished out nearly four assists for every turnover he has logged.
On the downside, Graham has never been a particularly efficient scorer. Even when he averaged over 18 points per contest last season, he posted an effective field goal percentage under 50. However, he is a career 36-percent shooter from deep on almost seven attempts per game.
If he could find a way to score close to the basket (he has made just 38 percent of his attempts from zero to three feet from the hoop in ’20-21), he could be a high-level scorer.
Graham is Reportedly Available
Floating Graham’s name as a good fit in Boston is one thing, his actual availability ahead of the NBA’s March 25 trade deadline may be another. However, a recent report has indicated that he may be obtainable in trade talks.
As noted by The Athletic’s Sam Amick, teams around the league have gotten the sense that the Hornets are hesitant to pay Graham the massive pay raise he has earned by upping his output substantially over the last two seasons. Moreover, rookie LaMelo Ball has already forced him out of Charlotte’s starting five with his own stellar play.
“Graham, the third-year point guard whose 3-point shooting last season turned so many heads, recently returned after a month-long absence from a kneecap injury and could inject some offensive punch into some suitor’s bench,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Quinn believes that Graham could be had for “a quality second-round pick and a player like Carsen Edwards or perhaps Semi Ojeleye.”
Graham will be a restricted free agent this summer.
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Hornets Guard Floated as Low-Cost Trade Target For Celtics