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BOSTON – When Gordon Hayward turned down his $ 34.1 million player option last fall, the Boston Celtics knew there was a good chance of losing him and getting nothing in return.
So the Celtics made a deal with Hayward and his new team, the Charlotte Hornets, to acquire the next best thing: a $ 28.5 million exception for traded players, which is the largest in NBA history.
The 14-13 Celtics fighter has lost 10 of his last 16 games and has limited financial flexibility as he has already crossed the salary cap. But the TPE gives them the potential to add a differential through exchange, without having to dispatch players or equal wages.
“We are talking as usual at this time of year,” Celtics basketball operations president Danny Ainge told Bleacher Report. “So we will have to wait and see. But I am evaluating my own team, my own players and, at the same time, watching the rest of the league and how they are doing. Let’s see if there is anything there that fits.”
According to several league executives, it is not a matter of And if the Celtics will use their TPE, but on whom.
“Of course, with Danny Ainge, you never know for sure what he will or will not do,” said an Eastern Conference executive who has had low-level business talks with the Celtics this season. “But look where they have records, look at their list … I don’t see how Danny can keep them as they are and not make any changes.”
The executive added: “And with the [trade] With the exception of the Hayward deal, Danny can add a very good player and keep his team together, which I know if he got what he wanted, he would do it. “
But adding, even with the exception of massive exchange, it will not be easy for the Celtics to add talent as competition increases until the March 25 exchange period.
Defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers may want to add another piece to help spell Anthony Davis, now out on the pitch, who had an MRI performed on February 15, which showed that he had a calf strain that would leave him out for at least two weeks.
Cleveland is apparently looking to pass Andre Drummond, but his hefty $ 28.8 million salary will be difficult for any team to acquire via trade. But if Drummond were to get a purchase with Cavs, he would become a highly sought after player by several teams looking to increase size, including Boston.
Michael Dwyer / Associated Press
Other players’ league executives envisioned as potential Celtics targets include Harrison Barnes of Sacramento, LaMarcus Aldridge of San Antonio, PJ Tucker in Houston, Aaron Gordon in Orlando, JJ Redick of New Orleans and John Collins of Atlanta. Other low-cost possibilities mentioned include George Hill and Terrence Ross from OKC in Orlando.
Injuries and health and safety protocols have limited the Celtics’ predicted five to having a lot of court time together, which may influence Ainge to keep the team intact and survive this season.
Boston’s projected five initials were to be a perimeter trio of Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, along with Jayson Tatum and Tristan Thompson on the attacking court. According NBA.com, that group played a total of seven minutes together this season and it was not pretty.
“I hate to use these excuses,” said Ainge. “All teams have problems with COVID, all teams have problems with injuries. And really, at the same time, we have not seen our starting team that was scored at the start of the season a lot this season. But again, this [current play by the team] … is unacceptable. I just hope that all players feel the same way and I think so. I am confident that each of them knows that they can do more and play better and harder “.
Staying healthier and playing harder can only do so much. The Celtics could use another rotation piece, but a rival executive in the East has pointed out what could hinder his plans to use the unprecedented TPE to reinforce his list.
“They have the exchange exception, but if a team can add talent, perhaps a good choice or choices to a business, will that overcome a Boston exchange exception?” said the league executive. “For some teams, maybe.”
With the Celtics record hovering around the 0.500 mark at the end of the season for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign, Ainge knows there will be further scrutiny about how he deals with the team’s difficulties.
Discovering the type of player Boston is looking for is one of the biggest unknowns in the NBA right now.
“Is it a big man? Is it a wing? Depending on the day of the week, that may be your answer,” said the last executive at the Eastern Conference. “They are in this really unusual place, where they are a very good team, but they have more than one free area that needs to be reinforced.”
Michael Dwyer / Associated Press
While there is no challenge to the Celtics’ need to improve the game, a Western Conference scout rejected the argument that Boston needs to add more perimeter scoring moves.
“If you really look closely at the numbers, you will see that the problem is not that they have bad snipers,” he said. “It’s just that the snipers they have are not shooting enough.”
The Celtics are throwing 37.8 percent over the three-point line, which occupies the ninth league throughout. However, his 12.5 made three and 33.0 attempts at three points per game were 18th and 22nd, respectively.
In fact, the move towards two more points than three has been preparing for years for Boston.
The Celtics are ranked ninth in two moves made per game this season. Boston’s ranking of two-point attempts has risen each year since the 2016-17 season, when it was 29th. Meanwhile, Boston fell in the league standings on three-point attempts in three of the past four seasons.
And while much attention will be paid to the record $ 28.5 million TPE and how they use it, the Celtics did other deals during the off-season that generated a couple of additional TPEs – a $ 4.8 million TPE when Enes Kanter went to Portland and a $ 2.6 million TPE when they sent Vincent Poirier to Oklahoma City (Thunder would later switch him to his current team, the Philadelphia 76ers).
Those are good resources, for sure.
But for the Celtics to add a player of significant impact and do so without disturbing their core group, it will be necessary to find the right team as a business partner, the right player that meets their needs, not to mention some, if not all of their business exceptions. $ 28.5 million to do so.
Statistics updated through games played on Tuesday, February 16.