Getty Khem Birch, Raptors
With the NBA free-agent market drying up and not much left to be had for the Celtics when it comes to filling the hole at reserve center left by the trade of Daniel Theis, Boston is still leaving itself open to bringing in a replacement via the so-far-unused Evan Fournier traded-player exception. The exception, worth $17.1 million, runs up on July 18 and thus far, all of the Celtics’ summer maneuvers have come without it being touched.
Boston is a tax-paying team, so any contract it takes on will cost exponentially more than its value. For that reason, the Celtics could simply let the TPE expire. Still, the Celtics could take on a small deal from another team should the opportunity arise, and one candidate remains available—depending on how serious talks get around Nets star Kevin Durant.
That player is Raptors center Khem Birch, a solid defensive center who could fill in as a stopgap rim-protector when the team needs to rest Robert Williams III or Al Horford. Birch is due to make $6.7 million this season and just shy of $7 million next year, and his contract could be useful for the Raptors if they get seriously involved in the Durant sweepstakes.
GM: Birch Can ‘Give You a Lot of Pop’
Birch is a high-energy big man who thrives in short stints. He was undrafted coming out of UNLV in 2014 and played in the G-League and overseas, with stints in Greece and Turkey.
“He can rebound, he can block some shots, he is going to give you a lot of pop when he is on the floor,” one Eastern Conference general manager said. “He is a good guy to be around, a lot of people like him. But he can’t shoot and he can’t stay healthy. So it gets a little tough to trust him because you need him to be available. But with their situation, they’re looking for someone to chew up minutes with Horford and Williams resting and he can do that.”
Birch, who will turn 30 in September, played 55 games for the Raptors this season, and averaged 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. He had trouble with his right knee for much of the season, and finally had arthroscopic surgery in May, in hopes of ridding himself of the nagging problem. Birch had the surgery despite having to miss qualifying games for Team Canada because of it
The Raptors have been rumored to be pursuing a deal for Durant, though the completion of such a trade is a longshot. But if the deal were to happen, Birch would likely be included to make the salaries match. There is some question, though, about whether the Raptors would seek to help the Celtics in the East if they look to dump Birch.
Theis Trade Leaves Roster Hole
The Celtics had to deal away Theis as part of the trade that brought in Malcolm Brogdon from the Pacers, after Theis had arrived last February in a deal with the Rockets. Theis played in 21 games, averaging 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 18.7 minutes.
Brogdon and forward Danilo Gallinari were the team’s primary offseason acquisitions, and the Celtics gave another contract to big man Luke Kornet. But the group is lacking an experienced reserve big man.
The Celtics pursued Wizards free agent center Thomas Bryant in hopes of landing a low-cost option in the middle, but Bryant eventually chose to sign with the Lakers, who will give him a chance to crack the starting lineup. The Celtics could not offer that opportunity.