The Boston Celtics don’t have much to complain about at the moment. They sit at 20-5 and are coming off an impressive homestand. Despite that, it appears they are keeping their eyes peeled on possible frontcourt help.
Among their latest reported targets is Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards III.
“Contending teams like Boston, Oklahoma City, and Dallas have shown great interest in Isaiah Stewart, league sources tell The Athletic,” Edwards wrote in a December 18 story.
The Pistons are 2-24 and have lost 23 games in a row. They also have other young and developing bigs like James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III. Despite being around their age, Stewart may not factor into Detroit’s long-term plans if they decide those guys are more worth their time than he is.
The one conundrum is that acquiring Stewart is tricky because he has a “poison pill” contract. While in the last year of his rookie contract, Stewart will start a four-year, $64 million contract extension with the Pistons in 2024.
HOOPS EMPIRE’s X account explained how a trade would work: “The necessary salary needed to be sent out to acquire him would be the average of his current remaining deal and his extension. That would be 5yr/$65.3M ($13.05M AAV). So basically the Celtics have to fork up $13M if they want to get him.”
The Celtics have had good production from their frontcourt this year, and not just from Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta have been solid as stand-ins in case of injuries. Lamar Stevens just helped the Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers as their starting center on December 15.
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