Boston Celtics Trade Away Center; Follow-Up Move Now Necessary

Brad Stevens has seen positive contributions from almost all of his recent moves. Josh Minott seems to have fallen out of the rotation, but he won them some games early in the season. Luka Garza, also a picked off the Minnesota Timberwolves scrap heap, was out of the rotation earlier this season but has made the most out of his second chance and is contributing on a nightly basis. We’ve seen Amari Williams shine in big moments, and just last night, Ron Harper Jr. delivered a critical supporting performance that allowed the Celtics to build a big lead and blow out the Houston Rockets. 

But no one bats a thousand in the NBA, not even Stevens. 

Chris Boucher was signed at a veteran minimum this summer to add to Boston’s depth. He was seen as a stretch big who could handle small-ball lineups and block a few shots. However, past performance isn't always indicative of future results. 

The 33-year-old forward has only played in nine games, the last of which came after a 30-game stretch on the bench. That game actually ended in controversy when Boucher hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of a blowout win over Sacramento. 

“I felt like I still have a lot to give to the game,” Boucher said when he signed in Boston. “I wanted to go somewhere where I felt like there was a winning culture, winning, you know, energy, and also feeling like I wanted to see something different.”

That something different will now be the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains of Salt Lake City. The Celtics traded Boucher to the Utah Jazz ahead of the Thursday trade deadline. Details of the deal haven't been released, but there is no player returning from Utah. The move simply clears a roster spot. 

This does, however, mean the Celtics will have to do something else. Trading Boucher for nothing drops them to 13 rostered players. The league minimum is 14, so the Celtics will need to do something else to fill that spot. League rules give them two weeks to do so. 

An important element of the Anfernee Simons trade to Chicago is that it dropped Boston below the first apron, which removed trade and buyout restrictions. The buyout piece is important, because now Boston can sign any player on the buyout market, regardless of the size of their previous contract. 

On top of that, the Celtics have their full bi-annual exception at their disposal. Using it would hard-cap them at the first apron, but only for the rest of the season. The BAE is worth $5 million, and the minimum salary for a 10-plus year veteran is $3,634,153. So the Celtics could use $4 million of their BAE to outbid other teams for a buyout player if they felt strongly enough. 

They could also elevate one of their two-way guys. Harper Jr. or Williams could be candidates if Brad Stevens wanted to lock up their services for multiple years at a bargain price. 

The Celtics have some options for this final spot, and that type of flexibility has always been a priority for Stevens and the front office.