Getty Isaiah Stewart
The Boston Celtics don’t have much to complain about at the moment. They sit at 20-5 and are coming off an impressive homestand. Despite that, it appears they are keeping their eyes peeled on possible frontcourt help.
Among their latest reported targets is Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards III.
“Contending teams like Boston, Oklahoma City, and Dallas have shown great interest in Isaiah Stewart, league sources tell The Athletic,” Edwards wrote in a December 18 story.
The Pistons are 2-24 and have lost 23 games in a row. They also have other young and developing bigs like James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III. Despite being around their age, Stewart may not factor into Detroit’s long-term plans if they decide those guys are more worth their time than he is.
The one conundrum is that acquiring Stewart is tricky because he has a “poison pill” contract. While in the last year of his rookie contract, Stewart will start a four-year, $64 million contract extension with the Pistons in 2024.
HOOPS EMPIRE’s X account explained how a trade would work: “The necessary salary needed to be sent out to acquire him would be the average of his current remaining deal and his extension. That would be 5yr/$65.3M ($13.05M AAV). So basically the Celtics have to fork up $13M if they want to get him.”
The Celtics have had good production from their frontcourt this year, and not just from Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta have been solid as stand-ins in case of injuries. Lamar Stevens just helped the Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers as their starting center on December 15.
Celtics Will ‘Actively Pursue Bench Help’: Insider
The Celtics have seen consistent production from their primary bench players: Al Horford, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard.
However, according to NBA insider Shams Charania, they will be on the lookout for more help in that department.
“[The Boston Celtics] are going to be aggressive in just seeing what could be out there for bench help.”
@ShamsCharania on the Boston Celtics.
“The Celtics will be active on the trade market to pursue bench help. They want to see what’s out there in the marketplace,” Charania said on “Run It Back” on December 18. “They are going to be aggressive in just seeing what could be out there for bench help.”
The Celtics’ bench ranks dead last in scoring, averaging 25.9 points per game, per NBA.com. However, at the same time, their bench has the league’s third-best net rating, as the Celtics are plus-3.4 points per 100 possessions when they take the floor, per NBA.com. Even if the trio of Horford, Hauser, and Pritchard don’t provide much scoring, the Celtics aren’t worse when they’re on the floor.
With Horford being 37 years old, along with Pritchard and Hauser being unproven, the Celtics may think the second unit could use more cushion.
Celtics Have Previously Shown Interest in Isaiah Stewart
This is not the first time the Celtics have been linked to Isaiah Stewart. On June 15, Edwards reported that the Celtics were among the teams who inquired about Stewart around the NBA draft.
“Heard they — and others — made calls to Detroit asking about Isaiah Stewart. I don’t see the Pistons moving Beef Stew. At all,” Edwards wrote on his X account.
Even though it would be hard to see how a deal would get done, the Celtics have maintained interest in Stewart for a while now. The Celtics have been doing just fine with the roster they currently have, but Stewart could be a target sometime down the line.