Celtics trade for talented bench big man
Dec 17, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; The Boston Celtics logo is seen before their game against the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Celtics are all-in on their championship pursuit this season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports Wednesday that the Celtics have acquired big man Xavier Tillman in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. They are sending back two second-round picks to Memphis in return (2027 via Atlanta and 2030 via Dallas).
The fourth-year big Tillman, 25, is a nifty piece. While a bit undersized at 6-foot-8, he is a physical frontcourt presence who is plenty active in the paint. Tillman has averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in under 20 minutes per game over the last two years in Memphis and is a standout defensively too.
The NBA-best Celtics had been in the market for another frontcourt piece to back up Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta were doing OK as the reserve bigs up until this point. But the acquisition of Tillman gives Boston a more playoff-tested option (and likely means that this other trade target of theirs may now be headed elsewhere).
