Proposed Celtics Trade Would Badly Misfire

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 28: Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics shouts at a referee during the second half at the TD Garden on October 28, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

The Boston Celtics have the deepest roster in the NBA. Their top-seven rotation are all capable of being starters for most teams in the league. Joe Mazzulla has them playing a distinct brand of basketball with a core focus on sacrificing for the team.

The problem with the Celtics current roster construction is it’s incredibly high price point. Boston is a second apron luxury tax team. They will be paying millions in penalties at the end of the season. As such, their flexibility in the trade market is limited, as is their need for new recruits.

Nevertheless, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes recently proposed that Boston should explore potential deals for Ousmane Dieng of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dieng, 21, is in his third NBA season. He continues to show promise as a high-level forward of the future.

“This is more like a fever-dream target for the wildly inflexible Boston Celtics,” Hughes wrote. “But just as a thought exercise, Dieng and his $5 million salary is about the best the Celtics can hope for if we’re assuming Payton Pritchard and his $6.7 million figure are heading out in a one-for-one swap. Boston can’t aggregate players or take back more than it sends out, so the options are limited.”

If Pritchard is the cost of doing business with the Thunder, the Celtics should hang up the phone and never call back. The Oregon product has been electric to start the season and should be completely off limits in any trade talks, at least for the immediate future.

Payton Pritchard Could Win Sixth Man of the Year

Pritchard currently leads the NBA for points scored off the bench, dropping 144 in his first nine games of the season. He sits fourth for points-per-game, too. No bench player has taken more three-point attempts than him, either, with 85 perimeter shots, and no bench player has made more than him, dropping 35.

With Kristaps Porzingis out of the rotation due to injury, Al Horford has stepped into the starting lineup. That has allowed Pritchard to move into a sixth man role to begin the season. The results of that change are speaking for themselves. Boston’s tempo and spacing both get a jolt when the fifth-year guard checks into the game.

Pritchard recently signed a four-year contract extension worth $30 million. He will earn an average annual value of $7.5 million during the course of his deal. While that contract is extremely tradeable, his value to the Celtics is worth far more than what they would likely get in a potential deal.

Lonnie Walker IV Has Signed With Zalgiris Kaunas

Lonnie Walker IV spent this summer working out with the Boston Celtics on an Exhibit 10 contract. The score-first guard had failed to draw interest from around the NBA, and was hoping to force his way into Mazzulla’s plans. Unfortunately for Walker he didn’t do enough to justify the (approximately) $11 million cap hit he would cost the franchise in tax penalties.

Walker would have found himself behind Pritchard in the pecking order. Boston had also recently acquired Baylor Scheierman via the draft, and will likely want a clear path to playing time for him if he develops as hoped. As such, Walker was released by Boston at the end of their training camp.

Rather than wait around for his phone to ring, Walker has taken his talents over to Europe. He’s signed a deal with Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas. However, there is reportedly a clause in his contract that would allow him to return to the NBA if a team is willing to pay $450,000 to release his contract before Feb. 18, 2025.

Whether Walker can play himself back onto NBA teams radar will remain to be seen. However, it’s unlikely that we see him suiting up in a Celtics uniform, either this season or moving forward.