Celtics Move Swiftly for Reinforcements, as they ‘Expressed Interest’ in $37 Million Stretch Big

Even though they’ve maintained the league’s best record, the Boston Celtics want some reinforcements. A possible reinforcement would be a familiar face that goes by the name of Kelly Olynyk. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that Olynyk is among the players that the Celtics have interest in.

“Boston has expressed interest in a wide range of trade targets, including Kelly Olynyk, Delon Wright, Andre Drummond, and others, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto reported in a February 5 story. “Drummond would fit the parameters of Boston’s current compensation package above, while Olynyk and Wright would likely cost more.”

This is far from the first time the Celtics have been linked to Olynyk during the 2023-24 season. NBA Insider Marc Stein reported that the Celtics are “monitoring Utah’s Kelly Olynyk in advance of a potential trade pursuit” on Christmas Day 2023.

The Celtics already have two players in their frontcourt who can stretch the floor with Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Adding a third floor-stretching big gives them both more frontcourt depth and more shooting on top of that. More than that, trading for Olynyk would put the Celtics’ minds at ease when it comes to resting Porzingis and/or Horford.

Olynyk is shooting almost 43% from three this season. Since he’s playing on an expiring contract, he wouldn’t cost much.

Analyst Outlines How Celtics Could Acquire Kelly Olynyk

Despite the Celtics’ reported interest in Kelly Olynyk, MassLive’s Brian Robb explained why putting a deal together would be hard.

“Not only would the Celtics have to satisfy the compensation demands from Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, but finding the necessary money to send out in the deal for salary matching for Boston wouldn’t be easy. In order to make a deal worth without using one of Boston’s top six players, at least five players would need to be dealt to make the math work for salary matching,” Robb wrote in a February 5 story.

Robb added why trading Olynyk to the Celtics would be difficult for the Jazz to pull off.

“That type of bigger deal would be daunting for Utah potentially since they would need to create those roster spots for a trade to work. The Jazz could waive players or trade them in separate deals to open up roster spots in theory, but there would be a lot of moving parts at play here to make a deal challenging.”

The Jazz could also make trades that would open up roster spots, but there have been no reports that they would do that.

Kelly Olynyk Buyout Called ‘Unrealistic, But Would Be Cool’

CelticsBlog’s Jack Simone explained that Kelly Olynyk would be an option for the Celtics only via a buyout. Moreover, he explained why an Olynyk reunion is “unrealistic, but would be cool.”

“What a return this would be. Kelly Olynyk would make a perfect third-string big in Boston with his floor-spacing and passing abilities. But the Jazz aren’t bad. They’re not going to buy him out. And if they don’t end up keeping him, any team that trades for him would be adding him to help them compete,” Simone wrote in a February 4 story.

Whether it’s via trade or buyout, there’s been plenty of smoke about Olynyk coming back to Boston. Even if they don’t get him back, the Celtics clearly want him.