Veteran NBA insider Marc Stein reported on his Substack that the Boston Celtics are one of several teams monitoring Kelly Olynyk’s status with the Utah Jazz.
While they’ve won three-straight games and six of their last ten tilts, at 13-18, they’re 12th in the Western Conference.
As the individual running their front office, Danny Ainge will likely look to trade veterans who aren’t in the franchise’s long-term plans.
That figures to include Olynyk, who the Celtics had interest in reuniting with leading up to last year’s trade deadline.
However, the two sides couldn’t find common ground, and the former Gonzaga star stayed put.
The 32-year-old is averaging 7.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and nearly a steal per contest.
Olynyk is also taking two threes per game and converting them at a 41.4 percent clip. He’s a career 36.9 percent shooter from beyond the arc on 3.3 attempts.
However, Olynyk’s on an expiring $12.2 million contract, and the Celtics would need to send out slightly north of $11 million to acquire him.
Even if they gut their extended rotation, and there’s a case for doing so in a case like this, unless they bump someone up from a two-way deal, they’d have to include Jordan Walsh, Sam Hauser, or Payton Pritchard.
Regarding the latter, his contract extension came with a poison pill complicating any proposal he’s in.
It also seems like a mistake to create a need in the backcourt and start seeking another ballhandler to push this deal across the finish line.
Boston’s best hope is that Olynyk ends up on the buyout market, intent on returning to the franchise that drafted him.
However, Ainge can get value for him on the trade market, and the Toronto, Ontario native may not push for that to happen.
