The NBA trade deadline is coming up on Thursday, and the Celtics unsurprisingly find themselves in the middle of plenty of reports and rumors.
One of the hottest names on the market right now is Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, with The Athletic reporting that he has requested a trade and that the Celtics are among the teams who have engaged in discussions with the Magic.
The Athletic adds that the Celtics have also expressed interest in Orlando center Nikola Vucevic and wing Evan Fournier, but that Gordon is the most likely to be dealt and the most realistic for the Celtics to land.
The 6-foot-8 Gordon would help fill the void left by Gordon Hayward’s departure. He is averaging 14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season. The 25-year-old is signed through next season with an $18.1 million salary this year and $16.4 million next year.
The Athletic notes that the Celtics could use Tristan Thompson’s $9.5 million salary as a base for salary matching while also including prospects like Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford or Aaron Nesmith, but that it may be more likely the Celtics would just absorb Gordon’s salary into their $28.5 million trade exception created by the Hayward sign-and-trade, as that would then also create a trade exception for the Magic in dealing Gordon.
Shams Charania adds that the Rockets, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Trail Blazers are all interested in Gordon as well, with the Rockets engaged in talks that would send two first-round picks to the Magic.
Gordon has played four games since returning from a sprained ankle that forced him to miss nearly six weeks, but alleviated some concerns about how he would look with a monster 38-point game in a win over Brooklyn on Friday.