Josh Richardson, Dennis Schroder Likely To Be Moved From Boston
The Boston Celtics were full of surprises this offseason, as they not only moved Kemba Walker and newly acquired Evan Fournier, but long-time executive Danny Ainge stepped down and he was replaced with Brad Stevens, who had coached the Celtics the last eight seasons.
Making the playoffs for seven straight seasons, including three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, many expected the Celtics to be right in the thick of things once again in the East, but that has not been the case this season.
Boston has yet to win more than three games in a row this year and outside of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, it has been hard to pinpoint consistent production for this group. The Celtics are just 27-25 on the season and they are expected to be very busy over the course of the next week.
Rumors about Tatum’s and Brown’s futures with the team are nothing as of right now pertaining to the NBA trade deadline, but it is very likely that this organization will look to swing a few deals in attempts to better their playoff outlook.
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Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Dennis Schroder and Josh Richardson are all said to be available leading up to next week’s deadline and latest intel suggest that Schroder and Richardson could be on the move.
After failing to receive a $100M offer in free agency like he had hoped for, Dennis Schroder opted to sign a one-year, $5.9M deal with the Boston Celtics. At the time, the Celtics signed Schroder with the intention of flipping him for value at the NBA trade deadline and this mindset has not changed.
Given his solid performances off-the-bench this season and once again proving to be an impactful “sixth-man-like” option, there have been some teams around the league showing trade interest in Schroder.
Recently, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer mentioned the Chicago Bulls as a potential destination for Dennis Schroder given their need for a guard right now with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso being out.
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The Nuggets, Mavericks, Clippers and Pelicans are some other teams that have been mentioned as possible landing spots for Schroder in the past.
The Celtics acquired Josh Richardson in the offseason from the Dallas Mavericks, but Richardson has not been an impactful secondary talent for them in their system. The 28-year-old wing is averaging just 9.8 points and 2.7 rebounds, both being his lowest averages since his rookie season in 2015-16.
Richardson is shooting 39.1% from three-point range though and has shot 36% from deep for his career, making him a possible target for wing depth around the league. The Celtics are looking for value anywhere they can get it right now in attempts to surround their two All-Stars with consistent scoring threats, which is why Josh Richardson has been made available in recent weeks.
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The Athletic’s Jared Weiss wrote recently that Boston explored a deal with Minnesota revolving around Josh Richardson and Malik Beasley. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto recently stated that Richardson was one of the names the Utah Jazz have discussed recently as a possible replacement for Joe Ingles’ lost production on the wing.
Having numerous trade exceptions and moveable contracts, the Boston Celtics are expected to be both “sellers” and “buyers” at the NBA trade deadline with the mindset of adding more firepower in attempts to make another deep playoff push.
