As NBA trade season begins, will Celtics make any roster changes?

Sunday marked the official start of NBA trade season as a swarm of players became swap eligible, and we’ve already seen a little flurry of trade activity well in advance of February's trade deadline.

Will the Boston Celtics make any changes to a championship roster?

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made it a priority to bring back basically the same group from last season with a pledge to evaluate the team’s needs midstream. Early returns have been encouraging.

The Celtics are 21-5 after Sunday’s shellacking of the lowly Wizards. Boston has the second-best record in basketball and sits just a game back of the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. When healthy, the Celtics have the most talented top six in the NBA -- they have last season's Larry O’Brien Trophy to prove it -- and maybe no team in the league has the depth that Boston possesses in its top nine. 

The real question is whether the Celtics might tinker with the back end of their roster, where no one has stated a particularly strong case for swiping the minutes vacated when Oshae Brissett elected to depart this summer. Even then, it’s sometimes hard to find a pathway to adding a player that’s better than what the team already has in-house, especially with Boston’s limitations as a second-apron team.

Let’s start with the basics:

Who can the Celtics move?

The big man trio of Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, and Xavier Tillman all became trade eligible on December 15 after signing new pacts this offseason. Kornet, because he signed a one-year, minimum salary deal, has the ability to veto any trade. It’s unlikely he was headed anywhere regardless of veto powers.

Jayson Tatum cannot be moved until July 2025 after signing his supermax extension. Derrick White cannot be moved until January 6, while Sam Hauser becomes trade eligible on January 21. The rest of the roster is available to move immediately. 

What restrictions do the Celtics face?

There are two main rules to keep in mind when pondering roster additions based on the Celtics being a second apron team: 

1. The Celtics cannot aggregate contracts in a trade, meaning they cannot combine contracts to acquire a more valuable player. If the Celtics were to move, say, Jaden Springer’s $4 million contract, they cannot combine him with Queta’s $2 million deal to hunt a $6 million player.
2. The Celtics cannot sign any buyout player who was previously making more than the midlevel exception this season. 

What are Boston's potential trade needs?

The easy answer here is wing depth. The Celtics have the All-NBA tandem of Tatum and Jaylen Brown at the top of the depth chart, but after Brissett’s departure, the team is thin on experienced depth behind them.

Jordan Walsh has made progress but hasn’t made shots consistently enough to become a consistent rotation presence. Baylor Scheierman has played only 34 minutes and will get much-needed reps in Maine this winter. 

Big man depth is always a popular topic with Celtics fans, in part because of the need to pace veterans like Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.

Kornet and Queta have played well despite fluctuating playing time. Tillman, acquired last season for a pair of second-round picks, has played sparingly, but did show last postseason that he could be a playoff contributor given his defensive versatility.

What's a realistic move for this team?

In the quest to preserve continuity and chemistry, we’d deem it highly unlikely that the Celtics would move anyone in their top nine. Harder decisions about who to carry forward can wait until the summer. 

Remember, too, that the Celtics have maintained one open roster spot entering the season. If the team wanted to add to its roster without having to make a deal, it could simply sign a player. Brissett is still a free agent and camp standout Lonnie Walker has the ability to return after a trip overseas. 

The Celtics could just elect to make a simple move like elevating two-way wing Drew Peterson to the parent roster before season’s end. Peterson has given the team some solid minutes in seven appearances. Queta got the call-up from two-way to parent roster before the postseason last year.

The one player on Boston’s roster to watch in trade chatter might be Springer. The 22-year-old guard, acquired at 2024 trade deadline for a second-round pick, owns the eighth-highest salary on Boston’s books. Given the Celtics' second-apron status, every $1 over the tax counts for roughly $4 in tax money, meaning a player like Springer essentially is costing $16 million.

Boston would have to be committed to Springer’s development to carry his contract through the season. Even if the team yearns to move his contract, it might cost another draft asset to get a team to take on that money. Unlike past seasons, Boston cannot just send out cash to help another team eat a contract under this new CBA.

Still, Springer’s contract might be Boston’s most agreeable pathway to acquiring a player making more than a minimum contract. The Celtics do have a batch of future second-round picks to help facilitate deals. The difficulty is wading through the roughly 183 players who make $4 million or less and trying to find someone who is 1) Available and 2) A surefire upgrade over what they have.

Still there are plenty of old friends who could be available around the league. Daniel Theis and Javonte Green are on minimum deals in New Orleans. Could you call Philly about Guerschon Yabusele if the Sixers decide to punt on the season? Is there a 3-and-D vet on a team preparing to chase Cooper Flagg?

The bottom line

Contenders are starting to tinker. The Golden State Warriors added old friend Dennis Schroder in a deal with the Nets, while the Pacers acquired center Thomas Bryant from the Heat. 

The Celtics don’t need to make a deal, but Stevens could be tempted to hunt for a reliable veteran as additional insurance in Boston’s title quest. That’s essentially what Boston did last season, and Tillman helped the team get to the finish line of Banner 18.

Stevens just has to find the right player to move this team a little closer to Banner 19.