The Boston Celtics picked up defensive help on the perimeter and a secondary playmaker. Atlanta picked up some needed guard depth behind Trae Young. Sacramento got a backup center and a veteran presence on a team trying to learn how to win.
The Hawks, Celtics, and Kings have agreed to terms on a three-team trade, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Later in the day, Tim Bontemps of the same site added that the Celtics had worked out a separate deal to acquire Josh Richardson from Dallas.
Here’s what it means for each team:
The Celtics added Kris Dunn and Bruno Fernando from the Atlanta Hawks, and Josh Richardson from the Mavericks. Boston is pushing to get these deals done quickly so they happen in this NBA calendar year (before Aug. 1) because they can fit into the Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter trade exceptions. With all these moves, Boston stays below but should continue to flirt with the luxury tax.
What the Celtics gain in Richardson is a guy that can fit well in a guard/wing role when asked to do some playmaking — he struggled when asked to be entirely off the ball in Dallas — and who could put another switchable defender on the court with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Dunn is also a strong defender who can help off the bench and handle the ball some.
Sacramento gets Thompson to be a backup for Richaun Holmes — a player that they need to re-sign as a free agent — and an expiring contract they can try to trade at the deadline for a player closer to the De’Aaron Fox timeline.
The Hawks get Delon Wright, who averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 assists last season (playing in both Detroit and Sacramento), and he can provide much-needed playmaking and guard depth when Trae Young goes to the bench.
The Dallas Mavericks get a $10.8 million trade exception they can use to acquire a player later.
This is just the next step of Brad Stevens reshuffling the Boston roster, the first step being trading Kemba Walker. More moves are coming in Boston.
However, the biggest winner in this trade could be Atlanta as they move players not part of their future plans and land a solid player at a position of need in Wright.
Here is more on the Celtics
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Reports: Celtics rework roster with pair of deals to land Dunn, Richardson originally appeared on NBCSports.com