The Celtics have been active on the trade front this week having pulled off five deals before and during the 2023 NBA Draft capped by a three-team swap that landed Kristaps Porzingis.
Boston also reportedly had surprise trade talks about former Warriors guard Jordan Poole according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports before Golden State dealt him away for Chris Paul on Thursday.
Ultimately, the Celtics dealt away Marcus Smart, Danilo Gallinari, the No. 35 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and Mike Muscala away to land Kristaps Porzingis, the No. 25 overall pick and a 2024 first round pick from the Warriors.
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Boston then used the No. 25 overall pick on draft night to trade down to acquire Jordan Walsh at No. 38 and pick up four future second round draft picks in four separate deals. The team ended up these picks after all those swaps and the Smart trade.
- Warriors 2024 first round pick (top-4 protected
- Dallas’ 2024 second round pick
- The best of Detroit’s, Golden State’s, or Washington’s 2025 second round pick
- The best of Minnesota’s, New Orleans’s, New York’s, or Portland’s 2026 second round pick
- Atlanta’s 2027 second round pick
Analysis: The fact that the Celtics talked about acquiring Poole in a deal is a fascinating proposition on a number of fronts. The Wizards picked up a 2027 second round pick and a 2030 top-20 protected first round pick by taking on Poole’s bloated contract and were also able to get off of Chris Paul’s $30 million salary as part of the deal.
Poole is more of a shooting guard than a point guard at 6-foot-4 but it’s hard to see how he would have fit adequately n Boston’s backcourt unless the team was moving another guard on top of Smart in a separate deal. Instead, it’s likely these talks this could have been a deal that sent Smart or Malcolm Brogdon to the Warriors with the Celtics flipping Poole to Washington for Porzingis as the money would have lined up there. My guess is the Celtics preferred the Grizzlies offer more, which makes sense based on the return.
Poole averaged 20.4 points last year for the Warriors but struggled with his efficiency, knocking down just 33 percent of his 3-point attempt. He will be making $28.7 million next year and will make over $127 million over the life of his four-year deal. Ultimately, the Celtics likely found a far better option by landing Kristaps Porzingis on an expiring contract rather than gambling on the 24-year-old Poole to bounce back with that pricy contract or trying to flip him elsewhere.
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