Why are NBA players not interested in playing for the Celtics?
While it's hard to see a way the Celtics land the biggest name on the NBA trade market, Bradley Beal, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens is apparently exploring a number of other avenues to improve the team.
According to MassLive's Brian Robb, Boston has been "one of the more active teams in the league in trade talks" ahead of next Thursday's NBA Draft.
Robb adds that the Celtics are "investigating" moving one of their guards in order to improve other areas of the roster.
That makes sense. The Celtics were deeper at guard than forward all season, with Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon all playing regularly while Payton Pritchard was relegated to occasional depth minutes.
Pritchard was open about his desire to play more minutes next season, even if that meant leaving Boston. The Celtics could trade him, although it would seem unlikely that Pritchard alone would land them any sort of meaningful frontcourt upgrade.
Any of Smart, White or Brogdon certainly could, though, whether that's in a true basketball trade or by landing them draft picks they could then turn around and use to add elsewhere.
With Robert Williams' health a near-constant question and Al Horford now 37 years old, adding another impact player up front makes a lot of sense for the C's. They could also potentially lose Grant Williams this offseason if another team makes the restricted free agent an offer Boston can't or won't match.
Danilo Gallinari, who reportedly exercised his $6.8 million player option on Thursday, is back for another year -- if the Celtics don't trade him -- after missing this entire past season with a torn ACL. But he'll be 35 when next season starts, and the Celtics will probably want to hedge any bets they're making on him.
One forward the Celtics have reportedly inquired about -- according to The Athletic's James L. Edwards III -- is Detroit's Isaiah Stewart. The 22-year-old Stewart averaged 11.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this past season, but Edwards says he doesn't see the Pistons moving him "at all."