Report: Celtics making these players available in trade talks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are open for business.
The Celtics kicked off NBA trade season late Tuesday night by reportedly agreeing to a three-team trade that brings Bol Bol and P.J. Dozier to Boston and gets the club closer to avoiding the luxury tax this season.
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President of basketball operations Brad Stevens may not be done, however: The Celtics are making Al Horford available in trade talks as they target another center, The Athletic's Jared Weiss reported Wednesday.
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Weiss also reiterated the widely-reported belief that Boston is open to trading Dennis Schroder while noting wing Josh Richardson is available as well. The Celtics also have a pair of recent No. 14 picks in Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith, but it's unclear what Boston could get in return for either player, as both have made a minimal impact in limited playing time this season.
Horford and/or Richardson could be relatively valuable trade chips, though. While Horford has struggled from 3-point range this season (28.5%), he's been solid on the defensive end (1.4 blocks and 7.4 rebounds per game) and would bring leadership to a contender or a young roster.
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Richardson has been a pleasant surprise for Boston to date, averaging 10.1 points per game on 45% shooting while hitting 41.1% of his threes. Both he and Horford are under contract through the 2022-23 season.
The Celtics seem committed to building around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and reportedly want to keep big man Robert Williams, as well. It's unlikely a deal involving Horford, Richardson, Langford and/or Nesmith lands them another All-Star, but Stevens still could improve the Jays' supporting cast by adding a center, more shooting or a playmaking point guard.
The NBA trade deadline is less than a month away on Feb. 10, and it appears Stevens' phone indeed is "ringing off the hook."
