NBA Trade Rumors: 4 deadline deals that could help the Boston Celtics get right
By Ian Levy
Ariza opted out of last year’s bubble and is yet to suit up for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who acquired him in a series of trades this offseason. Ariza was contract filler to facilitate other deals and the Thunder would be happy to flip him, ideally for some additional draft capital. There are likely to be several fringe contenders interested in Ariza but it’s possible that the Thunder aren’t able to find someone willing to offer up a first-round pick.
If that happens, the Celtics could slide in. Thompson is of no value to the Thunder but they need him for salary-matching and they might be able to flip him again before the deadline. Nesmith hasn’t played much (or been overly impressive when he has) but he was a lottery pick last season, he’s 21, and has a well-defined skillset as a shooter, spotting up or off movement. The Celtics could also throw in some combination of their own second-round picks and the four additional ones they own the rights to over the next five years.
It might be hard for the Celtics to give up on Nesmith but they get a veteran wing who fits a need, another stretchy big in Mike Muscala and they can keep their own first-round pick to potentially land a more interesting player than Nesmith in this year’s draft.