The Celtics and Rockets have made a trade to beat the buzzer!
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Boston is sending Dennis Schroder, Enes Freedom, and Bruno Fernando to Houston in exchange for an old friend in Daniel Theis.
Boston needed to upgrade at center behind the Al Horford-Robert Williams front-court pairing. Until now, their most reliable solution was short-shifting Horford, but doing so resulted in heavy minutes for a player in his 15th season.
Theis spent the first 3.5 years of his NBA career with the Celtics. At the trade deadline last season, Boston moved him in a cost-cutting deal after acquiring Evan Fournier earlier in the day.
Theis is averaging 8.4 points and five rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game this season, starting in 21 of the 26 games he's played. He's taking 6.9 shots per contest and converting 46.9 percent of them, including 61 percent of his 3.8 two-point field goals.
The four-year veteran, who turns 30 on Apr. 4, joined Houston on a four-year, $35.6 million contract. This season, Theis is earning $8.3 million. He has a guaranteed deal through the 2023-24 campaign for an average of about $8.7 million. After that, there's a club option worth $9.5 million for the 2024-25 season.
After acquiring Derrick White earlier in the day, trading Schroder, already a likely scenario, became increasingly probable. The Rockets will probably buy out the remainder of his one-year, $5.9 million contract.
Schroder is averaging 14.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.3 rebounds this season. The Los Angeles Lakers didn't make a single deal on deadline day, meaning they'll now rely on adding players from the buyout market to bolster their rotation. There's a distinct possibility Schroder ends up back with the purple and gold.
According to Wojnarowski, the Rockets will buy out Enes Freedom's contract.
More must-reads: