Boston Celtics: Pump the brakes on the hype for their huge trade exception

It’s not likely the Boston Celtics will be able to get a star for free

Unfortunately for the Celtics, however, the likelihood of this occurring is extraordinarily faint. There are very few Kelly Oubre’s available for pennies on the dollar, and looking at it from a financial perspective, the team offloading their high-dollar player to the Celtics would more than likely have to be in a pretty significant and intelligent rebuild (similar to the Thunder—Oubre’s former team) if they are willing to cut large salaries in exchange for small assets. Of the teams within the NBA—and yes, even the bottom-feeding teams—there are very few that fit this exact description.

It is also imperative to consider what should be the most obvious fact of the matter: If a team is willing to part ways with a nearly $29 million player (or, if two teams wish to part ways with separate $14 million players – trade exceptions can be broken down until the full dollar value is used) in exchange for nothing other than a small asset combined with the value of having said player off of their books, the odds that this high-dollar player will contribute to a winning franchise are beyond slim.

So yes, the Boston Celtics could hypothetically absorb a player set to earn $29 million, but put yourself in Danny Ainge’s shoes: Would you even want that player if their respective team is willing to give them up for shoelaces and bus tickets?

There is an off chance that I am being a bit too hard on trade exceptions and the idea that they could, in fact, bring value to a team. As previously mentioned, the Golden State Warriors did add a great piece in Kelly Oubre via this same scenario. But perhaps we should avoid getting too excited about the slight possibility of a trade exception bringing in a highly desirable player; The history behind trade exception acquisitions provides us with far too large of a sample size to excite ourselves over something that feels less like an asset and more like a future letdown. The value is there, but is it really?

In any other facet of life, one man’s trash might become another man’s treasure. In the NBA, though? Unfortunately, treasure is hard to come by, and trash tends to stay trash forever.