Three players Celtics should target with $28.5M trade exception

This past offseason the Boston Celtics traded Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets. In doing so, the team received a $28 million traded player exception (TPE). For several months now, many have wondered what precisely Boston would be able to turn that into.

During a recent appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” show, Celtics GM Danny Ainge offered some insight into what his organization was looking to do with the trade exception.

“I would say maybe shooting, with size,” he said. “There are a lot of different ways you can win in this league. We could use shooting, we could use passing. But you always need defense and our team is built on defense. We’ve been winning with defense the last few years. I know we haven’t won a championship, but we need defense.”

The “defense” part of that equation is key in Ainge’s mind.

“It’s hard to find a shooter that can’t guard anybody and expect that person to come in and make a major change on our team,” he continued. “We’re looking for complete players. But I think that shooting at the big position is something we haven’t had.”

There are three players who immediately come to mind given the characteristics Ainge laid out: P.J. Tucker of the Houston Rockets, Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic and Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings.

Tucker turned down the extension offered to him by the Rockets this year, and it appears as though a separation is inevitable. This way, Houston would get something in return for him.

Along the same lines, Gordon has been the subject of frequent trade speculation. Clearly Orlando at one point had visions of building the team around him in some capacity, but his inconsistency and injury proneness have rendered that impossible. Still, in terms of pure talent, he has the skills necessary to really help a contending team like Boston out.

Finally, Barnes is quietly having a very strong 2020-21 campaign. He is averaging 17.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists, while shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc this year. Those shooting percentages are the best of his career. He would fit in quickly and snugly on the Celtics.

One way or another, Boston needs to make a move in the near future to legitimately compete for the Eastern Conference crown. Any of the aforementioned players would go a long way in helping the Celtics increase their odds of making it to the Finals.