The NBA trade deadline is a month away, but the front office for the Boston Celtics is already starting to make moves. Per NBA insider Shams Charania, the Celtics dealt center Noah Vonleh as well as cash considerations to the San Antonio Spurs.
While the C's didn't receive anyone in this trade (they got a useless draft pick), it seems as if they're loading up for something else. Boston had a full roster prior to the trade, so the front office could be clearing space in order to bring in another player.
Now that they're down a center, the Green Team could look for another big before the deadline. Yet, they may stay put with a rotation of Al Horford, Robert Williams III, and Luke Kornet and instead search for another wing.
While Vonleh was a solid backup center for the Celtics, the Massachusetts native was not an integral piece. His minutes were already decreasing (just 7.4 per game), and he didn't see the floor much besides garbage time outside of the beginning of the season. With Timelord on the mend, trading Vonleh to make room on the roster for an upgrade makes sense.
But what's next for the Celtics? They could potentially go for a buyout option and bring someone on without losing other players or go big and trade for a more prominent player — perhaps like San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl.
Or, they could just utilize this exchange to save money, as the trade could lessen the Celtics' luxury tax burden at the end of the year:
Boston will save roughly $7 million in taxes (taxable salary + penalties) by moving Noah Vonleh to San Antonio.
Celtics were at roughly $65M for a total tax bill pre-trade. Now at roughly $58M for a total tax bill.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 5, 2023
However, to make this trade a month before the Feb. 9 deadline does seem to imply that Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has something else up his sleeve. After an especially embarrassing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, maybe Stevens was inspired to make a move:
This was 1000000000% Brad reading a Vonleh trade text 😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/3BWEXLc1EA
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) January 5, 2023
In the coming weeks, we'll see what else the Celtics have cooking as they look to bolster a championship-caliber roster.
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