The Celtics utilized the trade deadline to improve their depth at the pivot, adding floor-spacing center Mike Muscala. Boston sent Justin Jackson and two second-round picks to Oklahoma City.
As Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe first reported, the Celtics are sending their 2029 second-round pick and the worse of the 2023 Mavericks and Heat second-round selections Boston has.
The Celtics retained the right to receive the Rockets' second-round pick this year, protected for selections 31 and 32. At 13-42, Houston has the NBA's worst record. If that draft pick falls within its protected range, Boston instead receives the less favorable of the Dallas and Miami 2023 second-round selections.
If the Rockets keep their pick, and the Celtics retain the less favorable of the Mavericks and Heat's second-round picks, Boston, who has the rights to the Blazers' 2023 pick in round two, would send that to the Thunder.
The Celtics absorbed Muscala's $3.5 million contract into their $5.9 million traded player exception (TPE) from the deal that sent Dennis Schroder to Houston.
Muscala has a club option for the 2023-24 campaign worth the same amount he's making this season.
Boston also created a new TPE the size of Justin Jackson's $2.1 million salary.
With the Celtics addressing their top need while retaining valuable insurance policy Payton Pritchard and increasing the odds Danilo Gallinari gets to live out his childhood dream of playing for Boston, the focus turns to the buyout market.
Free agents can sign with a team any time during the regular season and be playoff eligible. However, a player currently under contract that changes teams must get waived by Mar. 1 to participate in the postseason.
Thursday, on the heels of the trade deadline, this author explored potential options for the Celtics on the buyout market, where Boston will look to add a wing who can at least help it get through the rest of the regular season.
Keith Smith of Celtics Blog reported the team with the NBA's best record (39-16) is "engaged with several players in advance of buyout discussions" and to monitor what happens next with players like Will Barton, Danny Green, Justin Holiday, and Terrence Ross.
Between the chance to compete for a championship and a $3.23 million disabled player exception the league granted them due to Gallinari's ACL tear, Boston is as attractive an option on the buyout market as any potential landing spot.
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