NBA Notebook: Realistic trade targets to upgrade Celtics shooting

With the trade deadline just over one week away, we continue our comprehensive breakdown of all potential areas the team could target ahead of the Feb. 7 deadline. After covering the stretch big market last week, we now look towards finding a shooting upgrade for the second unit backcourt. 

The Premise

We are focusing primarily on low impact type deals since there is not a lot of dead weight on the Celtics roster when it comes to movable salary. Focus on players making under $5 million is low enough to salary match in a trade for Vincent Poirier (or another expendable rookie) without touching the rest of the roster. Since Poirier’s trade value is actually a net negative (despite his cheap price tag at $3 million) a second-round pick may need to be included with him in the deal to offset his guaranteed salary next season.

BARGAIN BASEMENT SHOPPING
The offer: Vincent Poirier or (minimum salary player X) and a second-round pick (or two):

Alec Burks ($1.6 million)
6-foot-6
Age: 28
3pt: 36 percent
3pt career: 35.6 percent (3.5 attempts per game)
Overview: After years of underwhelming play in Utah and being traded twice last season, Burks has made the most of his opportunity this year for a bad Golden State team, averaging a career-high 15.6 points per game. He’s been far from efficient with his scoring (40.1 percent per game) but has managed to get to the free-throw line at an above-average clip (4.6 attempts per game). With the caveat of a good stats on a bad team season, Burks has seen a nice spike in his assist rate with a reduced turnover rate as well from his career average. Perhaps most importantly, he’d be an upgrade from Wanamaker as a scoring threat/creator (although a likely downgrade defensively). Given that he signed for the league minimum this offseason, it’s hard to imagine the C’s offering more than a second-round pick for him (perhaps two?). A late first? That seems like too high a price for a guy with an underwhelming track record. The Warriors are tight against the tax apron as well so the offer may need to be someone like Edwards so the Warriors don't add salary to the current roster.

Glenn Robinson ($1.8 million)
6-foot-6
Age: 26
3pt: 40 percent
3pt career: 37.5 percent (1.6 attempts per game)
Overview: It’s been an underwhelming career to this point for the former Pacer and Piston but like Burks, Robinson has made the most of his time as a top scoring option for a bad Warriors team. With career-highs across the board offensively and some additional volume from 3-point range this year on a nightly basis, he’d be a potential shooting upgrade on the wing for the C’s at a discount price. Whether or not his defense would be good enough to trust for Brad Stevens is a tougher question but his offensive game is far more dynamic right now than the likes of Ojeleye, Wanamaker or Green.

Damyean Dotson ($1.6 million)
6-foot-5
Age: 25
3pt: 34.1 percent
3pt career: 35.6 percent (3.5 attempts/game)
Overview: After playing a major role for the Knicks last year, he’s been relegated to bench duty in a crowded Knicks rotation, knocking down a subpar 34 percent of his 3s. The former second-round pick will be a restricted free agent this summer so the Knicks won’t be looking to give him away. However, giving up much more than a second-round pick for a guy who is putting up lackluster numbers for one of the worst teams in the NBA isn’t exactly a good sign that he would be able to do

Jordan McRae ($1.6 million)
6-foot-5
Age: 28
3pt: 37.7 percent
3pt career: 36.4 percent (1.9 attempts per game)
Overview: The 37.7 percent shooter from 3-point range is having a career year for the Wizards, averaging 12.8 points per game. He suffered a sprained ankle last week and has missed the past two games but would be worth a second-round pick if he gets a clean bill of health. He’s never played a meaningful playoff minute in his career but should serve as an adequate floor spacer for the second unit when an offensive boost is required.

Yogi Ferrell ($3.1 million)
6-foot-0
Age: 26
3pt: 32.1 percent
3pt career: 37 percent (3.1 attempts per game)
Overview: Farrell’s size makes him a defensive liability but he has been a potent shooting weapon before this year, shooting over 40 percent with the Mavs from downtown just three years ago. He’s in the midst of his worst season to date on an underwhelming Kings squad so he could provide a speedier alternative to Wanamaker at the point.

Denzel Valentine ($3.3 million)
6-foot-4
Age: 26
3pt: 39.5 percent
3pt career: 37.7 percent (4.1 attempts per game)
Overview: The former lottery pick has been in the dog house for Bulls coach Jim Boylen during much of this season before finally getting a shot in rotation in recent weeks once injuries have led up. He’s strictly just a catch-and-shoot player (just five free throw attempts all year) but he’s a good one at that although his shot selection can be questionable at times. His defense is what keeps him off the floor though and may be poor enough for the C’s to pass on him. Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year.

AIMING HIGHER

The offer: A late first-round pick and Carsen Edwards or Vincent Poirier
Overview: These are the guys with more proven track records or better upside. The Celtics may not be willing to meet a high asking price on them but it’s likely their teams will demand a better asset than just a low second-round pick for their services.

Reggie Bullock ($4 million)
6-foot-6
Age:28
3pt: 33.8 percent
3pt career: 38.8 percent (6.3 attempts)
Overview: After missing the first few months of the season due to a neck injury, Bullock has taken over the starting shooting guard job in New York. He’s a high volume 3-point specialist and his modest $4-million salary would make him a good fit for Boston’s payroll next year (team option for 2020-21). The problem? The Knicks would be happy to keep him at that price as well and they are actually trying to improve so dumping him for a late first-round pick won’t help in the interim. It’s an offer worth making but I’d expect Knicks to pass on it. He’s not good enough to offer more.

Malik Beasley ($2.7 million)
6-foot-4
Age: 23
3pt:35.6 percent
3pt career: 38.2 percent
Overview: He’s going to be a restricted free agent after the season and it’s unlikely the Nuggets will want to keep him when they are already handing out big money to their starting backcourt. While he would make sense in Boston as a scoring spark off the bench, the C’s would be hesitant to pay him big money as well as a backup in all likelihood. Based on this and the fact the Nuggets need him in the present due to injuries to their rotation, a late first-round pick offer is an intriguing presence for both sides. The Nuggets would love to get an asset for him over nothing but is he too valuable for them now as depth? And is he good enough to be just a rental for Boston paying that price? The guess here is both sides won’t find a middle ground on his value.

Bryn Forbes ($2.875 million)
6-foot-2
Age: 26
3pt: 36.4 percent
3pt career: 39.4 percent
Overview: Forbes is the Spurs’ starting shooting guard and with San Antonio still in the thick of the playoff race, they could certainly refuse calls on him. However, there is a logjam in the backcourt for San Antonio and Forbes is due for a big raise this offseason as he hits restricted free agency. With Patty Mills, Derrick White, Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker already under contract for next year, getting an asset in return for Forbes now may be the smart play. He’s having a down season overall for San Antonio but is one of the better perspective catch-and-shoot options that could be available. Whether or not the C’s think he’s worth a late first-round pick for a potential rental remains to be seen but that’s likely going to be the asking price to get the Spurs to consider moving him.

Wildcard option

Luke Kennard ($3.875 million): The sharpshooting Pistons guard has missed the past month with a knee injury and will not be back until the All-Star Break at the earliest per Pistons coach Dwane Casey. Any offer for him would be risky based on the fact he is dealing with knee tendinitis but he does have an extra year of cost control on his rookie deal for next season ($5.2 million). That could help justify the C's giving up a quality first-round pick for him and still staying within their budget.

PRICY OPTIONS

Overview: These are guys that will require multiple players being included in the deal for salary matching, which gets tricky for Boston. We will cover them more in an upcoming post this week to further dissect the pros and cons of dismantling the bench for one of their additions, but they all would bring some kind of offensive upgrade to the table (albeit to varying degrees).

E’Twaun Moore: $8.6 million
Bogdan Bogdanovic $8.5 million
Wayne Ellington: $7.8 million
Langston Galloway: $7.3 million
Derrick Rose $7.3 million
Marco Belinelli $5.8 million
Ish Smith $5.8 million

Final thoughts

If the Celtics really like their team chemistry and don’t want to rock the boat much or mortgage any of their collection of first-round picks for a marginal upgrade, I’d look hard at Burks or Dotson as natural shooters and consider offering up two second-round picks for them. Beasley and Forbes are the best players on this list but they are also flight risks so balking at giving up a first-round pick for either is understandable for Ainge. Bullock is worth the first-round pick in my mind with the extra year on his deal. Guys like Valentine or Ferrell may not be even worth a pick at this point but are worth inquiring on. Given the lack of reliable shooters that are expected to be on the buyout market and this team's lack of depth on the perimeter, it's worth pulling the trigger on one of these guys.