After losing in Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics have been one of the most aggressive NBA teams over the offseason to bolster their roster for a championship push.
The latest example came Sunday when they reportedly acquired point guard Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for point guard Malcolm Brogdon, center Robert Williams III, the Golden State Warriors’ 2024 first-round pick (top-four protected) and their own 2029 first-rounder (unprotected).
So far, the Celtics have acquired Holiday and center Kristaps Porzingis since the end of last season and traded away Brogdon, Williams, Marcus Smart, Mike Muscala, Danilo Gallinari, the Warriors’ 2024 pick, a 2029 first-rounder and a 2023 second-rounder (No. 35 pick). Grant Williams also left to join the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade, which opened up a $6.2 million trade exception the Celtics can use.
What do the Celtics still have left in terms of draft capital to make moves during the 2023-24 season?
They can trade two more first-round picks and three first-round pick swaps. They also have eight future second-round picks to dangle.
The Celtics fully control five of their next seven first-round picks.
First Round: 2024 (own), 2025 (own), 2026 (own), 2027 (own), 2028 (Spurs have right to swap picks, unless Boston’s selection is No. 1 overall), 2029 (traded to Blazers), 2030 (own)
Who might the Celtics target before the trade deadline?
Additional frontcourt depth would be valuable. There’s not a ton of depth or talent at center behind Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Given Porzingis’ injury history and Horford’s age (37), that’s the not most ideal situation. The Celtics do have several excellent small-ball lineups they could use after adding Holiday to the mix, but it would be smart to add at least one more big man at some point.