NBA trade season slowed to a crawl after some big early deals, but Wednesday brought a few smaller ones. Follow here for the latest intel from The Athletic’s NBA staff.
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Below, you can catch up on everything that happened in the last two weeks to set up what’s sure to be a busy Thursday for NBA teams.
The Boston Celtics have acquired Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for future two second-round picks, a league source confirmed to The Athletic. Lamar Stevens is also in the trade, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed. ESPN was first to report the news.
The Celtics are picking up one of the best available frontcourt defenders in Tillman, who, at age 25, is in the final year of his rookie deal. Estimated Plus Minus ranks Tillman in the 99th percentile among all defenders. He’s one of just 14 players averaging at least one block and one steal per game, and he’s done that while playing only 20.6 minutes per game.
Tillman hasn’t been very good offensively this season, but was much more efficient earlier in his career, which suggests his shooting percentages could climb now that he has much more talent around him. Even if they don’t, he will give Boston an opportunity to play some more big, physical lineups.
The Celtics were able to acquire him without touching the rest of their roster. Seems like a very sharp move by their front office. Tillman’s defensive versatility should give them more toughness and more options behind Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford.
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