What is preventing Stevens from making major moves is the desire to stay out of the second salary cap apron, which is one of the reasons why he traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and allowed Luke Kornet and Al Horford to leave via free agency over the summer.
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The Celtics do not want those limitations to impact their long-term future but they do want to upgrade their roster in an Eastern Conference that’s become attainable. Boston enters Sunday’s game with the Bucks tied with the surging Knicks for second in the East, two games ahead of the Raptors and Cavaliers.
Not only are the Celtics in line for a playoff spot with 34 games left in the regular season, they are primed for home-court advantage in the first round. And while Jaylen Brown is having an MVP-type season, the Celtics have not gotten the best Derrick White this season.
After averaging 22.3 points in December on 44.9 percent shooting and 38.2 percent from the 3-point line, White’s numbers dropped to 14.7, 37.3, and 25.9 in January. The hope is that White returns to form in the final third of the season, giving the Celtics an offensive boost.
But there are potential trade targets who may be inexpensive, such as Sacramento’s Keon Ellis, an impending free agent guard who is on an NBA minimum deal and is considered a plus defender and is a career 41.6 percent 3-point shooter. His $2.3 million salary is attractive because the Celtics could potentially use draft capital or a trade exception in a deal.
The Kings have lost eight consecutive games and are on their way to a major rebuild and general manager Scott Perry is ready to move several pieces on the roster. Ellis, who had fallen out of the rotation earlier in January, but played 19 minutes and scored 6 points against the Celtics on Friday.
There are other lower-salaried players around the league who could help the Celtics, such as Brooklyn’s Cameron Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe. Sharpe is an intriguing big man who is a good offensive rebounder and the Celtics have had issues at center.
With Neemias Queta out with an illness and Luka Garza also missing a game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was relegated to using two-way center Amari Williams for major minutes. Mazzulla is confident in Queta’s ability to defend and improved offensive game, while Garza is an offensive rebounding maven but sometimes undersized defensively.
There are players on the Celtics roster who could be available for trade, such as Chris Boucher, who signed a minimum contract last summer but was never able to crack the rotation. Xavier Tillman also has an expiring contract and has not proved to be a playing option for Mazzulla.
The Celtics can make tweaks to the roster without sacrificing their future because this team has played well enough to deserve upgrades. They also have three trade exceptions created by the deals of Porzingis, Holiday, and Jaden Springer. There is also the buyout option, where the Celtics could sign a player who does not make above the midlevel exception after the trade deadline.
Stevens does have options and while the remainder of the NBA will be consumed with the potential destinations of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, and Ja Morant, the Celtics have a chance to make some moves that could push them to the next level in the East.
The conference has proven to feature a bunch of flawed and inconsistent teams, with the Pistons being the unquestioned leader. But there is an opportunity for the Celtics to make a splash and the move does not have to be a major one.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
