6:06pm: The trade is official, the Celtics announced (via Twitter).
2:09pm: The Celtics will send forward Lamar Stevens to Grizzlies in the deal, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
That means Boston will maintain an open spot on its 15-man roster and won’t have to use an existing trade exception to take on Tillman. The C’s will also generate a small amount of tax savings, notes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link).
Stevens, who is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract could immediately see rotation minutes for the injury-plagued Grizzlies. He appeared in just 19 games for Boston, averaging 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per contest.
1:36pm: The Grizzlies have agreed to trade big man Xavier Tillman to the Celtics, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Memphis will receive a pair of future second-round draft picks from Boston in the deal: Atlanta’s 2027 second-rounder and Dallas’ 2030 second-rounder.
Tillman is in his fourth NBA season and has appeared in 207 total regular season games for Memphis since being drafted 35th overall in 2020.
He’s having a down year for the struggling Grizzlies in 2023/24, shooting a career-worst 40.8% from the field, but has been a reliable depth piece in the past, averaging 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 17.1 minutes per game with a .552 FG% in his first three seasons. He’s also a stout, versatile defender.
Tillman emerged as a trade candidate this season because he’s in the final year of his contract and didn’t project to be part of the Grizzlies’ future plans — he hadn’t signed a new deal with the club despite having been extension-eligible for the past two seasons.
Having fallen out of postseason contention this year, Memphis opted to get what it could for the 25-year-old, adding a couple second-round picks to its collection of draft assets after acquiring three second-rounders for Steven Adams last week.
The Celtics, meanwhile, will add frontcourt depth behind primary big men Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Luke Kornet and two-way player Neemias Queta have given Boston some solid minutes this season, but the team wanted to add another body up front for insurance purposes, especially since Porzingis and Horford have missed several games. Porzingis has dealt with minor health issues, while Horford has been held out of one half of all the club’s back-to-back sets.
The Celtics have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so they won’t have to cut anyone to take on Tillman. They also don’t necessarily have to send out any matching salary, even though the big man’s minimum-salary contract can’t be acquired using the minimum salary exception, since they have a traded player exception available to accommodate the incoming cap figure.
An extension is no longer a viable option for Tillman due to extend-and-trade limitations, so he’ll remain on track to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Boston will hold his Bird rights at that time, allowing the team to re-sign him without requiring cap space.
Great move by Boston this give all the bigs a night off on back to backs- Great Job by the executive of the year Brad Stevens.
Could also be attainable for Boston beyond this season.
Excellent defensive pickup. This allows Boston to regain some of what they lost with the 2 Williams kids And Marcus Smart.
the tall Williams kid wasn’t playin all that often and was overrated
You got that right. Timelord= “Lord, how much time is he going to miss”?
Good call. Tillman is a quality player who isn’t likely to command a huge raise as a RFA.
Granted, the fact that he could be had for two mid seconds annoys me. Cavs, get someone who doesn’t suck as badly as Damian Jones. Or play Isaiah Mobley. Pick one.
JB Bickerstaff sees Isaiah Mobley as a babysitting job to keep Evan Mobley happy. Much like the Bucks see Thanasis Antetokounmpo.That said Jones has played well when called on. Thompson also seems more than adequate as a backup center . Of course I wish we had Naz Reid to back Jarrett and Evan but that isn’t happening.
Jones has not, in fact, played well at all. He’s been a negative almost every game he’s played, and even when he plays in garbage time he sucks.
Thompson is suspended until near the end of the season.
I’m aware of the whole song and dance with Mobley the Elder. Doesn’t mean its a valid decision, because it isn’t.
Jones’ On/Off is fourth-worst in the NBA among players with at least 100 minutes played. That is beyond bad. Literally trash-tier.
Go Grizz! They love trading with the Celtics.
The Grizz should stop trading with Boston. Both trades are terrible for the Grizz lol
That’s because Brad Stevens is the modern day, Red Auerbach.
Nice pickup for the C’s. Sounded like they wanted Simone, but this is a quality pivot after Detroit picked him up. Of course, can anyone explain why Detroit gave up two 2nds (one pick, one draft-stash) for a guy who doesn’t fit their time line? Is the goal to add just enough talent to avoid the dreaded 8-74?
Hauser is just as good as Simone. Kornet is not as good as Tillman.
Nope, this year kornet is much better than Tillman,
Hmm, should I agree with Brad Stevens? Or Zack-9.
all the stats also agree that kornet is better. Tian is behind him in the rotation.
Seems like a good deal for both teams.
Especially well done since they still have the larger exception to use if something else comes up
Like it, typical good deadline trade. Quality rentals for SRPs, where both teams benefit. I think BOS’s larger need is for a wing player, but they’ve preserved the larger TPE and have other SRPs that can still be used for that. Even their own FRP this year (since its likely 30th) could be thoughtfully used there.
Maybe this will get the deadline deals going. The TOR deals weren’t really deadline, and the DET-UTH would be one except the wrong teams were buying and selling.
He could learn a lot from Al.
Raps could have used him.
Stevens is a decent get for the Grizz, tbh. His offensive game is limited, but he’s a *strong* defender. Last year I got to watch him force Luka into a crapload of bad shots and turnovers just from chasing Luka around everywhere (Luka ended the game -20 on 9/23 and 2/8 with 5 TOV). And he has a functional jumper, even if he’s not got anything impressive in his bag.
Glad Lamar Stevens will get a chance to play. And I like Tillman’s offensive rebounding stats. Hope he’s not injured but Celts can give him time off right now. Welcome to the Celtics Xavier! Go Celtics!
I’m surprised he never got a crack at rotation minutes with Boston.
Combination of the C’s not liking his mediocrity from 3 and being already pretty full-up at the wings. If he was a Center, he’d have gotten run. His offense is legitimately limited. He’s like a bulkier version of what Matisse Thybulle was in Philly.
I understand he would have gotten more time if he was a center, and I understand his game. I’m not confused about his limitations. When they signed him I thought he might get some spot minutes here and there on the strength of his D. He was legit buried
The Celtics depend on 3pt shooting for their offense, so if you’re not great at that, they will ignore you if you’re not a Center. That’s what I meant.
Too reliant on three point shooting. They’re awesome when the threes are falling, but if not, you see what the Clippers and Fakers did to us.
BOS likely initiated the Stevens part of the deal to clear a roster spot without eating the salary and the tax. Its not a small amount of tax savings, unless you’re comparing Tillman vs Stevens, as opposed to Tillman and Stevens (which is the case if they took Tillman in through the TPE). Now, BOS can fill the 15th spot with a buyout guy without having to cut a player. I doubt that MEM is paying anything for Stevens, and should be getting cash from BOS to take him.
Depth is always a good thing. Celts best record right now.
Celts best record all year.
Was holding out hope for a future 1st because of his size, defense, versatility, and cheap contract, but 2 2nds isn’t bad. His offense hasn’t been up to par this year, but if it was I think that 1st might’ve been attainable or another 2nd.