Nets Big Man Still Makes Sense For Celtics At Trade Deadline

As the NBA trade deadline approaches, the Boston Celtics’ situation is pretty clear. If they decided to buy, a big man would be their priority, and their trade chips would likely be Anfernee Simons and/or Sam Hauser.

Simons’ trade status was recently reported on by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, who said that the Celtics aren’t willing to part with first-round draft capital in a Simons trade. This makes a deal less likely.

Many people have assumed the Celts would be wide open to trading Simons because of his expiring $27.7 million salary. Boston could get under the luxury tax (they are currently $12.1 million away from doing so) by trading Simons and taking less salary back.

This scenario had Scotto thinking about a potential Celtics-Nets trade, possibly involving Day’Ron Sharpe, who’s been linked to Boston before.

“In any potential Simons trade scenario, there’s been a hesitancy to take on future long-term money for Boston,” Scotto wrote. “Thus, acquiring a player such as Terance Mann, who’s owed $31.5 million over the following two seasons, would not align with Boston’s preferred stance. Instead, players such as Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams, who each have a $6.25 million team option for next season, would be more likely to appeal to Boston. The Celtics also showed interest in signing Sharpe as a free agent this summer to compete for their starting center role, per league sources, but only had a minimum contract available at the time.”

In 32 games for the Nets this season, including two recent starts while Nic Claxton deals with a personal matter, Sharpe has averaged 7.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, shooting 60.5 percent from the field. In a January 4 win over the Denver Nuggets, he posted 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and one block in 32 minutes. On January 2 against the Washington Wizards, he tallied 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks despite the loss.

Over his five-year career with the Nets, the 24-year-old center (drafted 29th overall in 2021 out of North Carolina) has appeared in 223 games, averaging 6.6 points and 5.7 rebounds. Sharpe has steadily improved his efficiency and versatility, evolving into a versatile big who excels in rebounding, defense, and short-roll passing, providing depth behind Claxton.