NBA Rumors: Celtics Could Trade Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris & Draft Pick For Josh Richardson, Per ‘SB Nation’
Since the 2018 NBA offseason started, rumors and speculations started to swirl about Terry Rozier’s future in the Boston Celtics. Last season, Rozier has established an impressive performance when Kyrie Irving went down with a season-ending injury, proving that he’s ready for the starting role. However, now that Irving is 100 percent healthy, the 24-year-old point guard is once again expected to come off the bench in the upcoming 2018-19 NBA season.
Terry Rozier is set to become a restricted free agent next summer. As of now, it remains questionable if the Celtics are willing to match the offer sheet if other NBA teams give him a huge offer. The Celtics’ No. 1 priority in the 2019 NBA free agency is re-signing Kyrie Irving, and it is highly unlikely that they will let themselves be buried deep in the luxury tax hell to bring back a backup point guard.
SB Nation‘s Celtics Blog recently discussed Terry Rozier’s situation in Boston. Jeff Clark believes it will best for the Celtics to keep him since Rozier can give them insurance, depth, and dynamic option on both ends of the floor. Bobby Manning suggested that the Celtics could trade Rozier for another quality player with most-controlled years. Bill Sy came up with a trade scenario between Celtics and the Miami Heat centered on Rozier and Josh Richardson.
“I’m not worried about what’s next for me individually. I’m just worried about how special this team can be.” Here’s what else Terry Rozier said last night about trade rumors, backing up Kyrie and more: https://t.co/d3SHAHVhkU
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) September 7, 2018
In the proposed trade deal, the Celtics will be sending Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris, and a 2019 draft pick to the Heat for Josh Richardson. The deal works on ESPN‘s NBA Trade Machine.
“After next season, JRich still has two more cost-controlled years left and a player option. He’s a defense first, do-it-all guard that would slot perfectly behind Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown and next to Marcus Smart on the second unit. There would have to be some assurances from Kyrie that he’d re-sign next summer of course, but in the event that Irving walks, Boston would still be getting that middle class contract of a young, productive player that they could deal down the road. For what it’s worth, I’m a big fan of Scary Terry, but I just don’t see the Celtics re-signing him next summer.”
As the report noted, Josh Richardson could be the perfect replacement for Terry Rozier. In 81 games he played last season, Richardson averaged 12.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.5 steals on 45.1 percent shooting from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. Unlike Rozier, Richardson is under contract until the 2021-22 NBA season. He could serve as a backup for Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown or play alongside Marcus Smart in the Celtics’ second unit.
