NBA Trade Rumors: 7 fringe contenders that need to make a deal

Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have both been phenomenal this season. But beyond that, the Boston Celtics have a number of question marks hanging over their heads.

Kemba Walker looks like a shell of his former All-Star self as he works his way back from a stem cell procedure on his left knee. He’s shooting only 36.3 percent overall and 35.6 percent from 3-point range, and he’s averaging a mediocre 0.78 points per possession as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, which ranks in the 35th percentile league-wide.

The frontcourt remains a weakness, too. The Celtics are outscoring opponents by 6.0 points per 100 possessions with Daniel Theis on the court and Tristan Thompson off, but they’re getting outscored by 4.3 points with both players on, per PBPStats. That could prove problematic in playoff matchups against bigger opponents such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Celtics could also use more bench depth. Payton Pritchard has been a pleasant surprise as a rookie, but veteran point guard Jeff Teague is shooting only 32.8 percent overall. Semi Ojeleye, Grant Williams, Javonte Green and Robert Williams III all show flashes of promise at times, but none project to be difference-makers in the postseason.

The Celtics have a $28.5 million traded player exception from their sign-and-trade of Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets, which should help them shore up some of these weaknesses. Team president Danny Ainge recently said he’s targeting “shooting at the big position” with that TPE, although he added that “it’s hard to find a shooter that can’t guard anybody and expect that person to come in and make a major change on our team.”