4. Boston Celtics
The Celtics are handcuffed by a bunch of affordable stars on their roster. Only Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart make more than $10 million with Walker and Hayward over $30 million apiece.
Hayward, 29, is a shoe-in for a potential deal for salary-matching purposes. Unfortunately for Detroit, it would be adding another player marked by injuries of late. Hayward missed all but one game of the 2017-18 season with a gruesome dislocated ankle and fractured tibia. It occurred in his first game as a Celtic, coming off his only All-Star appearance.
This season, Hayward missed time due to surgery to repair a fractured fourth metacarpal in his non-shooting (left) hand. The injury sidelined him from Nov. 11 through Dec. 8, missing 13 games. He missed another three games in December, including a 114-93 Celtics win on Dec. 20, with soreness in his left foot. An MRI reportedly revealed no structural damage.
Injury issues aside, Hayward is quietly putting together one of his best seasons. He has a career best 60.4% true shooting percentage as a result of splits of .527/.359/.833. His 22% assist rate and 10.6% rebounding rate rank second in his career and he has his second-lowest turnover rate at 10.2%.
Hayward would provide plenty of value to the Pistons on the wing. Dealing Tony Snell to help the Celtics keep their depth could net another asset in return. While Enes Kanter gives the Pistons a center in return that expires ahead of the 2021 free agent class.
While the Memphis pick looks nice on paper, it is top-6 protected. Right now, the Grizzlies (13-22) are tied with two other teams for the seventh-worst record in the league. There’s a chance that the pick could convey but the lottery could erase any hopes. Though it would convey in 2021.
Obtaining Robert Williams, 22, may be a stretch but the Pistons could land him in a bidding war simply because they wouldn’t be getting as many younger assets that fit along with Doumbouya’s timeline. In 51 games, Williams has proven to be a defensive stopper with a career block rate of 9.9%. He also has a career true shooting percentage of 68.7%, proving to be elite around the rim.