See, I'd be very reluctant to bring in someone like Christian Wood, who isn't going to help much defending the perimeter and has spent the last few years in a featured role. I don't see him being thrilled with being one half of an offense/defense timeshare at backup center.
Lu Dort would be great but I don't see OKC being particularly motivated to move him (and with one more year of a minimum deal you don't need the TPE to target him anyway).
Josh Hart's pretty high up on my list of potentially available rotation guys. I could see old friend Josh Richardson traded for for the second summer in a row, or Doug McDermott could be bench help that rolls the salary slot forward. KCP might be the more interesting guy in Washington as an off-the-bench vet. Beyond that I'd just like for the asset to not expire. If it means Terrence Ross for cheap, so be it.
The more I think about it, the less I like the idea of Wood on the team for the reasons you’ve outlined…
It would be pretty amazing if we pulled off something like this in the off-season:
Step 1. Horford guaranteed or we guarantee him. Then extend him so he finishes his career as a Celtic.
Step 2. Trade for Dort and extend him immediately.
BOS In: Dort
OKC In: Small TPE, 2023 swap (OKC’s choice), 2024 1st
Extend Dort to $40-50 million over four years, so potentially another huge value contract like Smart. The beauty of Dort is when Horford is no longer a starter, if Grant cannot take over the 4, we can slot JB at the 3, JT at the 4 and Dort at the 2. The more I think about it, getting Dort and extending him would be my top priority. Dude can defend and ball and he’s in his early 20s and dirt cheap this year.
Step 3. Solidify a long-term defensive backup to Timelord, so move picks and the large TPE (most of it) for Poetl and extend him to a similar contract to Dort. Pay a little extra to get Bates-Diop for extra depth, particularly in case Nesmith does not bloom.
BOS In: Poetl, Bates-Diop
SAS In: Large TPE, 2026 1st, 2022 2nd, 2023 2nd HOU/DAL/MIA, 2023 2nd POR
Step 4. Extend Grant Williams and make it clear to him he’s either our future at the 4, or a potential 6MOTY down the road.
Step 5. Round-out the final two slots with the best available ring-chasing vet at the MLE and the best available ring-chasing vet at the minimum.
Smart/Pritchard
Brown/White
Tatum/Dort/Bates-Diop/Nesmith
Horford/G. Williams/Theis
Timelord/Poetl
Step 6. See if anybody would take on Nesmith + 2023 2nd ORL for a heavily-protected first, so something like a top 20 protected 2024 1st (lottery-protected 2025 backup, top five protected 2026 backup, top one protected 2027 backup, unprotected 2028 backup)
Step 7. If we can pull off step six, bring in Begarin for the 15th spot.
Step 8. Extend JB at the max available to him as soon as he’s eligible. As soon as JT is available for an extension (believe that would be the 2023 off-season), give him the super-max.
We would have the above roster, our 2023 1st, our 2025 1st, all our picks 2027 beyond, and the heavily-protected 1st in step six. After this off-season, we would basically just have to repeat step five each year, having our pick of the best ring-chasing vets at the MLE and minimum each year.
We would be set for a dynasty throughout the 2020s, particularly if Horford keeps it together a few more years in a Karl Malone-esque way and/or Grant continues to grow.