Celtics trade for talented bench big man

The Boston Celtics are all-in on their championship pursuit this season.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that the Celtics have acquired big man Xavier Tillman in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. They are sending back two second-round picks to Memphis in return (2027 via Atlanta and 2030 via Dallas).

While a bit undersized at 6-foot-8, Tillman is a physical frontcourt presence who is plenty active in the paint. Tillman has averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in less than 20 minutes per game over the last two seasons in Memphis.

The NBA-best Celtics were in the market for another frontcourt piece to back up Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta were doing OK as the reserve bigs up until this point. But the acquisition of Tillman gives Boston more a playoff-tested option.