5 things to know about the new Celtics bigwigs, Moritz Wagner and Luke Kornet

The Boston Celtics ended their day at the NBA trading deadline on Thursday, swapping Daniel Theis and Javonte Green for Moritz Wagner and Luke Kornet.

Here are five things you should know about the trade – three teams that involved the Celtics, the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards.

This deal was a wage dump

The Celtics almost certainly don’t think they are a better team because they traded Theis – their starting pivot in last year’s race for the Eastern Conference finals – by Wagner, who played 15 minutes per game for a bad Washington team whose starting pivot is out for the season. Luke Kornet would have been dismissed. The Celtics needed to get out of the luxury tax to avoid repetition tax and needed to ensure that if they somehow ran for the Eastern Conference Finals, they would be out of the luxury tax.

Wagner and Kornet are both free agents after the season.

The Wizards refused Wagner’s option, so his money comes out of the books after the season. The Bulls signed a two-year $ 4.5 million deal in 2019 with Kornet, which ends after this season as well.

Wagner will likely be asked to support Thompson and Rob Williams.

Wagner is unlikely to play important minutes, especially as Robert Williams shows flashes. Instead, Wagner is likely to be the third Celtics player off the bench, which is similar to his role in Washington.

With the Wizards, Wagner showed some potential as a great pick-and-roll – at 6 feet-11, he scored a respectable 1.22 points for possession like the man with the roll. He can go to the edge and pick and pop, which can replace a small aspect of what Theis brought to the table.

Kornet and Wagner have some shooting potential.

It is unclear whether the Celtics will retain Kornet at this stage. If he stays, both he and Wagner have the potential to shoot. In his first and second seasons, Kornet played for the New York Knicks, where he raised four points per game and hit 35.4% and 36.3%. In Chicago, his shooting numbers have dropped, but his shooting still looks good. Kendrick Perkins is a great believer.

“Don’t sleep on Luke Kornet. He can shoot the lights.”@KendrickPerkins shares his thoughts on the three-team agreement for Wagner & Kornet pic.twitter.com/Sb1YpJLeuS

– Celtics at NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 25, 2021

Wagner, for his part, was designed to be a solid sniper when he left college – he shot almost 40% in the second and third year seasons. He was never a good free-throw pitcher, however, which is usually a more reliable indicator.

In any case, teams cannot simply leave Wagner or Kornet open in pick-and-pop situations, which can be useful.

The Celtics may still be looking for a center.

Per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, the Celtics are likely to give up Kornet and look for a center in the procurement market. Options may include Andre Drummond or LaMarcus Aldridge. Danny Ainge may not have finished dealing yet.