If they trade for AJ Gryphon, it might be an opportunity to buy inexpensive on a young talent with unrealized potential, similar to their deadline transaction for Jaden Springer. Additionally, the Celtics would have a cost-controlled three-and-d wing addition to their lineup if Gryphon were to play at his peak.
Gryphon plays for an Atlanta Hawks club that is destined for the Play-In Tournament, but it’s important to note that he has played just 132 minutes this season. Thus, it’s unlikely that he’ll be a consistent player in Boston.
However, his limited floor time has also been a result of personal absences and injuries, so it’s not entirely due to a lack of skill. The 6’6″ swingman established himself as a rotational player just last season.
Staying in the bargain bin, how much would it actually take to lure Jett Howard away from the Orlando Magic?
Sure, they spent last year’s No. 11 pick on him, but they’ve also faced a shooting shortage all season and still never bothered to glance in his direction. He has appeared in just 14 games for a total of 52 minutes with the Magic, spending much of his season in the G League.
His NBA stats are a mess (34.8/27.8/50 shooting slash), but the sample size is so microscopic that no big-picture takeaways should be extracted from it. In the G League, the shooting specialist has lived up to the label by averaging 3.6 three-pointers per game on 37.7 percent shooting.
Given Boston’s affinity for the long ball, Howard could be an easy system fit as an off-the-bench launcher. He would cost more than Griffin to get, but if the Celtics are bullish about Howard, they could make the Magic really think by putting a protected first-round pick on the table.
Interior depth has been a talking point for this team all season, and there’s every reason to believe that will remain the case moving forward.
Kristaps Porziņģis has been available enough to make a massive impact, but it’s not like he has been the model of great health. Al Horford is barely two months away from his 38th birthday, and he can’t keep defying the aging curve forever.
The Celtics could absolutely feel they need more frontcourt protection than they’ve had this season, which could put Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards on their radar. He is a rock-solid, reliable and athletic 7-footer who’d help replace some of the bounce and paint protection they lost when they had to include Robert Williams III in the Jrue Holiday trade.
Richards would be the hardest to get of the players we’ve discussed, but he probably isn’t off-limits. Not when the rebuilding Hornets need more assets and already have their building-block big man in Mark Williams. It might take a package headlined by a protected first-rounder or even 20-year-old rookie Jordan Walsh, but the certainty the Celtics would receive at the center spot might be worth it.
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