As NBA trade season begins, will Celtics make any roster changes?

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As NBA trade season begins, will Celtics make any roster changes? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Sunday marked the official start of NBA trade season as a swarm of players became swap eligible, and we’ve already seen a little flurry of trade activity well in advance of February’s trade deadline.

Will the Boston Celtics make any changes to a championship roster?

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made it a priority to bring back basically the same group from last season with a pledge to evaluate the team’s needs midstream. Early returns have been encouraging.

The Celtics are 21-5 after Sunday’s shellacking of the lowly Wizards. Boston has the second-best record in basketball and sits just a game back of the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. When healthy, the Celtics have the most talented top six in the NBA — they have last season’s Larry O’Brien Trophy to prove it — and maybe no team in the league has the depth that Boston possesses in its top nine.

The real question is whether the Celtics might tinker with the back end of their roster, where no one has stated a particularly strong case for swiping the minutes vacated when Oshae Brissett elected to depart this summer. Even then, it’s sometimes hard to find a pathway to adding a player that’s better than what the team already has in-house, especially with Boston’s limitations as a second-apron team.

Let’s start with the basics:

Who can the Celtics move?

The big man trio of Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, and Xavier Tillman all became trade eligible on December 15 after signing new pacts this offseason. Kornet, because he signed a one-year, minimum salary deal, has the ability to veto any trade. It’s unlikely he was headed anywhere regardless of veto powers.

Jayson Tatum cannot be moved until July 2025 after signing his supermax extension. Derrick White cannot be moved until January 6, while Sam Hauser becomes trade eligible on January 21. The rest of the roster is available to move immediately.

What restrictions do the Celtics face?

There are two main rules to keep in mind when pondering roster additions based on the Celtics…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-trade-season-begins-celtics-144039780.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-12-16 14:40:00

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