What options do the Celtics have ahead of the 2025 NBA trade deadline? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are off to a great start to their NBA title defense with a 21-6 record in 27 games.
Jayson Tatum is a legitimate MVP candidate. Jaylen Brown is playing great after winning Finals MVP in June. Payton Pritchard is perhaps the leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year amid a career-best season for the 26-year-old point guard. As a team, Boston is on pace to break several single-season league records for three-point shooting.
There’s a lot to like about the way the Celtics are playing right now, but you can always improve, both on the court and in terms of building the roster.
The trade deadline is set for February 6, so teams still have over a month to make deals ahead of the playoffs. However, the Celtics are in the second platform, which is part of the CBA that places restrictions on big-spending teams.
Our Celtics insider Chris Forsberg recently explained what the second apron means for the C’s as the trade deadline approaches:
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The Celtics cannot combine contracts in a trade, meaning they cannot combine contracts to acquire a more valuable player. For example, if the Celtics were to move Jaden Springer’s $4 million contract, they wouldn’t be able to combine him with Queta’s $2 million deal to chase a $6 million player.
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The Celtics can’t sign a single buyout player who previously made more than the mid-level exception this season.
On the latest episode of NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics Talk podcastForsberg was joined by ESPN’s NBA front office insider Bobby Marks.
🔊 Celtics Talk: Exploring Celtics roster options with ESPN’s Bobby Marks | Listen and subscribe | Check out YouTube
What would the Celtics want to look for when making a move on the trade market, off waivers or on the buyout market? Marks thinks wing depth and/or another frontcourt player would make sense.
“Listen, everyone wants wing depth, that’s always the most important thing,” Marks said. “Hey, can we get a big wing off our bench? I think all the playoff teams are looking for it, and can you get a little more depth in the frontcourt, a little bit between a small forward and a power forward, a little bit in that nature.” would be a priority.
“I think the interesting thing about the apron rules, and not many people know this, is that you can trade for a minimum number of players and still be above the apron. That’s a bit of a loophole where you can market search and you can look at, I don’t know, a team that’s not there anymore, whether it’s Utah or Detroit or Brooklyn, and maybe there’s someone there who, maybe instead of sending your pick with Jaden Springer, maybe goes out and uses that choose find someone that can help you with that. I think it will be interesting to see what happens.
“P.J. Tucker is interesting. That’s something the Celtics should do their homework on, not from a trade standpoint, but just from a waiver standpoint, because I think his salary is under that threshold there. But he hasn’t had all year played.” How do you integrate it? Is he happy? You saw that Jae Crowder, who was out of the league for a while, now being in Sacramento is his content as far as what their role is going to look like.”
One name to keep an eye on as the trade deadline approaches is Lonnie Walker IV, who the Celtics signed to an Exhibit 10 contract this summer but did not commit to their Opening Night roster. Walker is currently playing in Lithuania.
“You’ll probably hear a lot about Lonnie Walker IV in the next five, six weeks because he has a buyout in his contract in Europe,” Marks explained. “I talked to his agent when I drove to Orlando and he said, ‘He’s playing great.’ He is doing well for Europe when it comes to playing there.
“He was in the Celtics’ camp. They know him. He knows the system. He can come in and not have the expectations that he has to play. But it’s a nice insurance policy for a guy you can throw.” in a playoff game because he’s been there before.”
The Celtics signed Xavier Tillman Sr. and Jaden Springer at the trade deadline last year. And with their own first-round picks and three second-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, the C’s could make a few moves before February 6.
Also in this episode:
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Bobby Marks on the Celtics’ season so far
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Biggest threat in the East?
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Has Brad Stevens made the right moves?
