5 potential under the radar trade targets for Celtics

The Celtics have been tied to Tyreke Evans for weeks now in trade rumors, but the price is expected to be stiff for the veteran shooting guard given his high production and modest salary ($3.2 million). While the Celtics will be sure to scour the buyout market for some offensive help if they don’t offer enough to land Evans via trade, the possibility also remains that they are looking at some potentially cheaper alternatives on the trade market in the interim. What players could fill a Celtics need that we haven’t heard much about? Here are a few characteristics of the personnel that could be on the move tomorrow.

1) Expiring contract
2) Modest salary (sub $5 million)
3) Playing for team unlikely to make the playoffs
4) Specialized skillset (scorer, shooter)

None of these guys will be more than fringe rotation players/specialists on the Celtics or any other playoff team if acquired at the trade deadline. However, each brings enough to the table that they could be worth a second-round pick and/or a young, borderline player under contract (i.e. Abdel Nader) in a deal. If the Celtics aren’t crazy about potential buyout options that could surface in the coming days, here’s a few names they could be exploring in the meantime.

Joe Harris
6-foot-6
SG/SF
$1.5 million
10.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.4 apg
Notable: The former second-round pick was an afterthought with Cleveland but has turned into a potent scoring weapon off the bench in Brooklyn over the past two seasons. He’s shot 39 percent from downtown over that stretch despite attempting nearly seven 3-pointers per 36 minutes. The Nets likely have interest in retaining him after this year due to his age (26) but he would be a mighty upgrade over Nader at the end of the bench.

Luke Babbitt
6-foot-9
SF/PF
$2.1 million
6.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.7 apg
Notable: The Hawks forward is a one trick pony but he’s very good at the trick as a stretch big. The 28-year-old is shooting 44 percent from 3-point range this year on a bad Hawks team. Babbitt has no postseason experience but he is capable of stretching the floor better than someone like Guerschon Yabusele at the end of the roster. He can surely be had for a second-round pick and he might not even be worth that much.

James Ennis
6-foot-7
SF
$3.0 million
6.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.1 apg
Notable: The swingman’s teammate (Evans) has been getting most of the attention for trade rumors but Ennis could also be a useful piece as a bench scorer at the trade deadline. He’s carved out a nice role for himself in Memphis over the past two years (10.5 ppg, 36% 3pt) despite being surrounded by an injury riddled supporting cast over that span. Memphis won’t have much money available to retain the free agent to be this summer (it’s all tied up in big contracts) so they could choose to sell Ennis now if they can get an asset for him.

Michael Beasley
6-foot-9
SF/PF
$2.1 million
12.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 apg
Notable: The scoring wing was single-handedly responsible for beating the Celtics in a game this year at Madison Square Garden so you can bet Brad Stevens would love a scorer like that as an option off the bench. His game may overlap a bit too much with Morris, but Beasley is a far more efficient player (as shown by his 50% FG). The Knicks may be throwing in the towel on the season with Kristaps Porzingis out with a torn ACL, so Beasley is a name to watch in the next 24 hours to see if he hits the market.

Doug McDermott
6-foot-8
SF
$3.5 million
7.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.9 apg
Notable: Like Beasley, McDermott may be more available now in the wake of some Knicks injury turmoil. He’s having the best shooting season of his career in the Big Apple (46% FG, 37% 3pt) and is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this offseason. That gives him a bit more value to the Knicks (since he’s under team control) but the Knicks already have roughly $100 million tied up in salary for next year so bringing back a 27-year-old role player may not be a major priority. The Celtics certainly need more perimeter shooting off the bench and McDermott has been doing that well for years.

Other wildcard names

Mario Hezonja: He’s actually played well in Orlando lately, but it’s hard to see him making an impact in Boston after he failed to do so for much of the past three years in Orlando.

Rodney Hood: Unlike these other names, Hood would be a high impact and high cost addition. It’s hard to envision the Jazz giving him up for anything short of a first-round pick, even though he’s hitting restricted free agency this summer. If the Celtics want to get ambitious though, this is a name to watch.