The Boston Celtics are better today than they were yesterday.
The NBA trade deadline came and went Thursday and the Celtics had a busy day, completing three deals. Boston opened the day by trading Bol Bol and P.J. Dozier to the Orlando Magic in a salary dump for a future second-round draft pick.
Boston followed it up with its most impactful deal of the day, sending wing Josh Richardson, 2016 first-round pick Romeo Langford and a 2022 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for guard Derrick White. The Celtics finished the day by reuniting with big man Daniel Theis in a deal with the Houston Rockets for Dennis Schröder, Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando.
All in all it was a good day for the Celtics. Although they picked up some long-term obligations in the process, the team just got better and there could be more on the way.
White and Theis should be able to come in right away and bolster the Boston bench. White is averaging 14.4 points per game and 5.6 assists and should be able to fill Schröder’s role perfectly while also giving the team more space. Plus, White is excellent defensively and a pairing with Marcus Smart will give opposing back courts nightmares.
Theis was in the Celtics’ system for four years and in that span showed how important he can be to this current team. He’s tall, athletic and can cover more than just the opposing center at a high rate. To make matters better, although he’s not a great three-point shooter, he’s solid and teams will have to at least step to him, providing more spacing for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to work with.
All three of these moves were solid for the team and now gives them plenty of opportunity. The deals brought in two NBA-caliber players to help with the bench while also freeing up roster spots for the buyout market.
The Celtics have played like the best team in the NBA since the calendar turned to 2022 and now if they’re able to add a few free agent shooters off the bench, they may be able to make a deep run come playoff time.
