The first trade of the 2022-23 NBA season has been made and while it is not a big move, it still matters because of what is to come as a result.
On Thursday afternoon, the Boston Celtics agreed to trade forward/center Noah Vonleh and cash considerations to the San Antonio Spurs, first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
In addition, the Spurs will be waiving veteran center Gorgui Dieng to create a roster spot.
Essentially, the Celtics free up a roster spot, bringing their roster size down to 14 at the moment, and they take $1.8 million from Vonleh’s contract off their books for this season.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs will also be waiving Noah Vonleh upon completion of the trade.
Vonleh’s contract with the Celtics was set to become guaranteed in just a handful of days and while he began the season in the team’s main rotation, he quickly fell out due to Boston choosing to go with Luke Kornet instead.
Now, with Robert Williams III back in the mix, the Celtics truly did not have a need to keep Vonleh around anymore.
As for the Spurs, they are in a position where they are aiming for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft while also working on developing their youthful core.
Waiving both Dieng and Vonleh, this gives them a chance to focus on another young frontcourt option in Charles Bassey and potentially move center Jakob Poeltl ahead of the trade deadline as well.
Both the Celtics and Spurs will be two interesting teams to watch ahead of the trade deadline, as Boston could very well be looking to add championship-level talent while the Spurs continue to field trade calls for Poeltl.
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