3 Potential Trade Targets For The Celtics

Three trade ideas for the Boston Celtics

A few weeks back, I outlined three potential Jaden Springer trade packages that I thought could make sense for the Boston Celtics. If you missed that, you can read it here.

I’m not comfortable coming up with trade ideas. There’s a stigma around it. It’s seen as casual basketball writing — and an easy way to generate link clicks. I get that viewpoint. Although, like everything in life, I think there’s a time and a place for that sort of content.

This leads us to today, with the trade deadline just 22 days away and the Celtics navigating some choppy waters. I think it’s fair to explore what options they could have available — especially as I navigate some writer’s block in terms of topic ideation. So, I chose to write something, anything, in the hope of breaking through and getting straight back on the horse.

Some disclaimers: I’m focused on depth pieces. Players who can come in and slightly raise the team’s overall floor. Someone who makes sense as a short-term addition but could potentially stick around beyond the current season. And most importantly, if the player I’m recommending is big, then a different big would need to be on their way out. I want no part of a roster with 6 bigs on it.

Mo Bamba

Age: 26

Position: Center

Team: LA Clippers

Salary: 1-year, $2.6 million

Season Stats: 21 games, 12.4 mins, 4.1 points, 4.2 boards, 1 block

Last week, I wrote about how a rim-runner could complete the Celtics’ big-man rotation. Bamba would fit the bill. At 7-foot he can protect the rim. He can rebound. He’s quick enough and athletic enough to run the floor.

Oh, and during Bamba’s time with the Orlando Magic, he was improving as a three-point shooter, knocking down 38.1% on 4 attempts per game during the 2021-22 season.

Bamba’s season has been stop-start, as he’s dealt with injuries and some inconsistent performances. Still, I would like to think that he could shine in the Celtics rotation, especially in a Rob Williams-style role, where he can use his explosiveness to exploit the team’s spacing. The fact Bamba could also mix in some pick-and-pop and some pick-and-slip makes him a strong fit for Joe Mazzulla’s style of player.

Swapping Jaden Springer could potentially entice the Clippers, as they spent the summer adding defensive wing talent. Springer would give Ty Lue a point-of-attack defender with legitimate upside. The issue for Boston is that they would then have another big man which would create even more of a logjam than they already have.

As such, someone else would need to be moved. A potential solution would be to attach a draft pick to Xavier Tillman and attempt to entice the Clippers that way. According to Spotrac’s trade machine, that deal would still work and could solve the conundrum of potentially creating an overspill of talent at the 5.

Amir Coffey

Age: 27

Position: Wing

Team: LA Clippers

Salary: 1-year, $3.9 million

Season Stats: 37 games, 25.1 mins, 10.4 points, 2.5 boards, 1.1 dimes