Surveying the Celtics’ trade deadline horizon with HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto

Trade season is in full swing with rumors and hints at the plans of much of the NBA starting to percolate up through the league’s media coverage, and the Boston Celtics figure to be squarely in the middle of the action with a strong consensus existing that they will be one of the NBA’s more active teams ahead of the Feb. 10 deadline.

To that end, the Celtics Lab podcast spoke with HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, one of the leading voices in breaking the early intelligence on the Celtics trade deadline plans so far this season. Scotto engaged the “Celtics Lab” podcast in a wide-ranging interview covering everything from rumbles about Celtics alumnus Jeff Green and Phoenix Suns big man Jalen Smith being tied to Boston all the way to what he’s heard about the team’s interest in Ben Simmons.

The interview below has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity, and is full of nuggets (pun intended) of info heading into the thick of trade season.

Celtics Lab: Let’s start with a Celtics reunion for what would be the third run for Jeff Green on the Celtics. I’m curious what it is you’ve heard considering that he’s been a solid fit (in Denver). It seems strange they would consider moving him — or maybe they’re not? Maybe it’s the Celtics asking about him.

Scotto: Yeah, it’s more along those lines. The Celtics inquired on Jeff Green. Brad Stevens values him as a locker room guy and a guy that could impact that team on the court. And I think one thing we’ve seen with Brad, they’ve brought back Al Horford. He has his guys that he’s liked over the past, and Jeff Green is certainly one of them. I think the Brooklyn Nets certainly miss him as well, so it’s more was an inquiry on that. And then for Boston, they’ve got plenty of younger bench guys that they would look to move to see if that would entice Denver, but to this point, it had not. I also think Denver, unless there’s something substantial for Jeff Green that’s worth their time, I think they’re going to keep him looking ahead towards the next season when they get back Jamal Murray and Michael Porter, Jr. healthy to make a run on the Western Conference.

Celtics Lab: That was the feel I got from looking at things. The other aspect that you covered on that podcast was Jalen Smith of the Phoenix Suns. That to me hints at perhaps making some other moves in the frontcourt. But Smith has a similar issue as another player on the Celtics roster, Dennis Schroder, in that, because they declined his team option, they can’t resign him for more than that amount. But Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report implied that perhaps Schroder was the offer. I’m wondering what you heard about that particular bit of intelligence.

Scotto: When I put that out, I had heard that. But, I kept that part a little bit quiet. Because they’re in similar situations, the difference for the Celtics would be Smith is a younger guy that they could potentially try to keep. Schroder is a guy that has been good for the Celtics so far, but if you’re going to try to have the same situation, you’d rather have it with a younger guy that maybe you could have with the core going forward, around those guys and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams as well. Smith has shown some ability at the five so far for the Suns. I don’t want to know if I want to say a small-ball five, but more like a five-out kind of guy. So, it’s interesting, but there’s a reason why Phoenix declined his option beforehand. He hadn’t shown anything until they finally got on the court. I think Chris ball in particular mentioned that in a postgame press conference. Ultimately I’ll say this: Boston certainly works the phones. They’re doing their due diligence on all ends of the spectrum. And I think they need to. I don’t think this has been the season that they necessarily thought that they were going to have.

Celtics Lab: Have you heard any interest in the Celtics being interested in perhaps picking up Dario Saric’s contract? Because he does seem to be someone that would be inclined to move.

Scotto: I have not heard that as of yet, no.

Celtics Lab: I would like to talk to you about this idea that seems to be gaining a little bit of traction, which is the Celtics trying to hit singles. There was a recent interview — I think it was by Jay King of The Athletic — where he talked to Brad Stevens about the goals moving forward and it sounds like Brad is really looking towards anything that gets the team closer (to a banner), and it doesn’t necessarily need to be a home run. What would that look like in your opinion at the trade deadline?

Scotto: In my opinion, something smaller along the lines of a Jeff Green. It’s really more for the locker room and they’ve got to break up a little bit of that bench rotation they have. I don’t think it’s been what they thought; some of those younger guys haven’t panned out. I think at a certain point, they need to prioritize which guys like Aaron Nemith, Payton Pritchard, which guys are going to be part of their core. And if they’re not, try to move off of them and get something of value while you can. Because I think Boston, you’ve got your core in Tatum and Brown. Williams certainly factors into that. Marcus Smart, his name is always going to be mentioned when it comes to trade talks just because he’s a valuable player that can impact winning, and he’s a solid role player and he can start as well. So, to me, I think that that’s more the type of deals instead of the grand blockbuster trades that Danny Ainge has done in the past when he was swinging for the fences.

Celtics Lab: I think you identified the problem of the year for the Celtics, which is as much as it’s fun to open the trade machine and see who fits where, ultimately, it’s up to ownership (to decide) if they’re willing to pay the tax. So let me ask you this at this moment, does it seem like Boston’s ownership is willing to stay in the tax?

Scotto: I touched on this with my colleague Yossi Gozlan. We expect them to try and move out of that and make a trade to save some money. So, it wouldn’t shock me at all to see a guy like Juancho Hernangomez on the move to try to get out of that.

Celtics Lab: Do you think there’s a world where either the coach or Stevens or the landscape of the East, something could change that would convince ownership that maybe spending into the tax does make sense this season?

Scotto: I don’t see it at this point, because in the East, I think the real contenders are Chicago, Milwaukee, Brooklyn. I just don’t think that Boston’s there to this point, and they’ve underwhelmed so far. I don’t see why anything would change in the next few weeks that would dictate them going into the luxury tax to me. When you’re looking at the bigger picture, and getting out of the tax now what it could potentially open up looking ahead towards the next season and beyond when they’ll have a better chance, I think you’re still going to have the core of Tatum and Brown that you can build around for a while.

Celtics Lab: Do you think that either the front office or ownership sees Rob Williams as part of that core? Or do you think that’s still to be determined?

Scotto: I think Robert Williams, they re-signed him to a deal that they liked. I think that they would listen, certainly, if a team called on Robert Williams — everything’s relative, right? It’s all about due diligence. But I think in the short term, yeah, he’s still a young guy that could be part of the core. The biggest thing for Robert Williams has always been whether he can stay on the court or not. The shot-blocking is there, his physical ability is there. It’s just if he can maintain his health, ultimately. So for now, I think he’s a guy that they look at as a core guy. But time is going to tell ultimately because I do expect teams to call on him and in doing due diligence what his value could be in there as there was a lot of noise about splitting up Tatum and Brown.

Celtics Lab: I can’t imagine that came from Boston. To your knowledge. Were people calling about Brown’s availability early this season?

Scotto: Oh, teams are always calling on Jaylen Brown. But as far as him being available, I don’t see that yet. Maybe they revisit things down the line. You need a boatload to get a guy like Jaylen Brown. They really value the kid, and should. I think they could just use a better supporting cast around those guys. And I understand where some people wonder if the two of them fit ideally together. They’re not exactly going to complement each other like a pick and roll point guard and a big man. It’s different; you’ve got two wings scorers. But I don’t see a need for Boston to move off those guys yet at all.

Celtics Lab: What do you think is the future of some of these TPEs that Boston is sitting on from Evan Fournier and Tristan Thompson?

Scotto: To me, if they’re trying to get out of the luxury tax, and move off a guy like Juancho Hernandez, I don’t know what player would fit into those TPEs that’s going to move the needle for them ultimately that they can get with the assets that they have. I think that’s where it’s tricky. You always like to get a trade and player exceptions have extra flexibility. But just because you get one doesn’t mean you’re always going to use it. I think that there are plenty of other teams out there that have them. I don’t necessarily see it at this point unless it’s going to be a real difference-maker at this point.

Celtics Lab: Between the Pacers, the Hawks, and the Kings, which team do you think is most likely to make a big move?

Scotto: I think the two teams I would say to make a bigger move are the Pacers and Hawks because the Pacers have a lot of guys that are on the market. And I touched on it on HoopsHype, especially with Myles Turner being out there for two first-round picks or a promising young player and a first-round pick. You’ve got Caris LeVert they want to get a young guy or a first-round pick as well. And I think those are guys that are some of the bigger names right now that are more realistically expected to potentially move. With the Hawks, they’ve had an underwhelming season and we already saw with the Cam Reddish trade; that draft pick they got I think was ultimately was obtained to be flipped in a trade for a win-now asset to better that team. They’ve got most of their core. I think the biggest question is if John Collins is going to stay there or they look to move him. Sacramento, they’ve wanted to make the playoffs but their roster is simply not good enough, in my opinion, to do so. And I think they’re going to have a moment where they need to decide if they’re going to get like a short-term guy to try to help them end the playoff drought and get there, even though I don’t think unless they get a real difference maker like maybe Ben Simmons that would really move the needle for them. I could see teams certainly reaching out to them about Harrison Barnes, who was linked to the Celtics a lot last year at the trade deadline. You may recall teams have an affinity for Tyrese Haliburton, and De’Aaron Fox has a pretty high contract number. I don’t think everybody around the league necessarily views him as a max contract guy, so I certainly think they’re going to be in plenty of conversations. But as far as teams making moves, I would think at this point Indiana, and Atlanta, more so than Sacramento at this point.

Celtics Lab: Do you think there’s any movement towards trading Buddy Hield at all? And could Boston get in on that?

Scotto: I mean, the funniest thing is in theory, Buddy Hield was essentially traded to the Lakers, and it fell through when they got the Russell Westbrook deal. So yeah, I could see him getting moved again. But the Lakers were the team that had it on the table. I wonder now if they try to revisit that. And again, that was a connection due to Rob Pelinka, his former agent, who’s the general manager there with the Lakers. Certainly, Hield’s name gets tossed out there. I’m not sure if there’s going to be enough to move the needle, though, for either team or Sacramento at this point. He’s another guy like Myles Turner, his name is constantly been out there.

Celtics Lab: Just to be thorough, have you heard anything about the Celtics and Ben Simmons, either as a trade partner or a facilitator?

Scotto: I have not.

Celtics Lab: One last question — between now and the trade deadline, do you see Boston making a lateral move, a win-now move, or do they become sellers in any capacity?

Scotto: I will look for Boston to try to get the best value they can for Dennis Schroder simply from the fact that financially, it’s going to be very tough for them to retain him next year. You might as well get an asset back for him if you can, and I also like shedding Juancho Hernangomez to help with the luxury tax bill, and I think it’s something they’re looking to do. Other than that, in terms of a lateral move, I don’t see them making a real move that shakes the landscape and bolsters the season for them. A lateral move on the margins may be something along the lines of a Jeff Green, but again, I don’t think Denver is enticed enough to do that.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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