NBA 2021 trade deadline: eight players Celtics should consider with TPE

The Boston Celtics have lost 10 of their last 15 games and calls for Danny Ainge to use the Gordon Hayward-traded exception have grown louder.

After delivering Hayward to Charlotte in November, the Celtics have until this summer to claw back up to $ 28.5 million from trades without having to match that salary. Now Boston is capped after using the mid-level exception to sign Tristan Thompson, so Boston can only get about $ 19 million in salary back, but that increases with any salary sent under a deal. . Still, there are hurdles in any power take-off, especially if the Celtics aspire to stay under tax given their cap sheet hike when Jayson Tatum’s extension begins next season.

So who should be targeting green with this exception? Here’s a writer’s first crack on a wishlist that we’ll be updating as more potential options become available before the March trading deadline: