NBA Rumors: Celtics Exploring Al Horford, Josh Richardson Trades

This Boston Celtics’ piecemeal roster, while possibly enough to get them to the playoffs, also is loaded with tradeable contracts.

And trade they will do, apparently. Or, at the very least, they’ll explore moving out players.

Brad Stevens made his first in-season trade of the season late Tuesday with a salary dump transaction that moved out Juancho Hernangomez and brought in P.J. Dozier (out for the season) and Bol Bol (out 8-to-12 weeks).

But Dennis Schröder long has been pinpointed as a player who likely won’t finish the season with the Celtics. According to The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, Boston also might be open to parting with two rotation players: Al Horford and Josh Richardson.

“After spending the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to acquire Al Horford in the offseason, the Boston Celtics are exploring trading him as they pursue another center, league sources told The Athletic,” Weiss wrote in a story published Wednesday morning. “… As the Celtics look to retool and get below the luxury tax, they have been unsurprisingly open to moving Horford and Josh Richardson, two core rotation players signed beyond this season.”

This Celtics team obviously needs too much overhauling to become a legitimate contender this season. At this point, the objective needs to be getting as many assets as possible while still keeping the current group competitive enough to play in at least one playoff series.

It’s a delicate line to walk, one that might represent the biggest challenge yet for Stevens the executive.