Xavier Tillman traded to Celtics

2 2nd rounders

Frightful 3 point shooter 6 ft 7.

I thouht he was already on the team

In case of emergency, break glass... Those emergencies being Al's age and Porzingis' legs or the unforeseen injury to Tatum.

Some big man depth on the cheap. Not tall but bulky. Can defend.

He's played some good minutes this year, so he doesn't come in cold should he be needed.

I do not understand this trade.

He is a Horrible 3pt shooter, and has been his entire 3+ year career, but this is his worst year so far.
He is a HORRIBLE frito shooter, and has been his entire 3+ year career, but this is his worst year so far.

WTF Brad?!

We now have a full roster, so no upgrade for Queta.

Is this it for us? Wow. Brad has made some amazing trades, and two 2nd rounders isn't a bad price for Tillman, but I just don't see this as an improvement.


Bob


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bobheckler wrote:I do not understand this trade.

He is a Horrible 3pt shooter, and has been his entire 3+ year career, but this is his worst year so far.
He is a HORRIBLE frito shooter, and has been his entire 3+ year career, but this is his worst year so far.

WTF Brad?!

We now have a full roster, so no upgrade for Queta.
 
Is this it for us?  Wow.  Brad has made some amazing trades, and two 2nd rounders isn't a bad price for Tillman, but I just don't see this as an improvement.  


Bob


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Hi,
Yes, something doesn't add up.
I wonder how he plays defense, since his offensive stats are not good.

AK

Queta is better than Tillman.  He has more size and length.

Tillman is an absolute dud on offense.  

2 second round picks for him is a reach.  Remember the Pacers traded 2 second rounder for Obi Toppin

This is Tillman's 4th NBA season and it should be clear to us fans that he does not bring much to the table.  Given the makeup of our roster you would expect more from Brad than just throwing away 2 second rounders.

Tillman averages 20 MPG.  Both Brissett and Queta are more productive in 11.3 and 12.2 MPG

The last thing we needed was another limited bench guy.

The trade has been updated to be Lamar Stevens and picks for Tillman.

It just got weirder.

Well, silver lining here is that we are still at 14, so a Queta upgrade is still possible.


Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 48 minutes ago
New: A league source tells MassLive that the Celtics are expected to stay active on the trade front after acquiring Xavier Tillman before tomorrow's deadline.


Bob


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https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2024/02/celtics-trade-lamar-stevens-to-grizzlies-in-xavier-tillman-deal.html



Celtics trade Lamar Stevens to Grizzlies in Xavier Tillman deal


Published: Feb. 07, 2024, 3:21 p.m.


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



The Celtics made an initial move on trade deadline week on Wednesday by acquiring Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for two second-round picks.

Boston is sending the Grizzlies a 2027 second-round pick via Atlanta and a 2030 second-round pick via Dallas to Memphis in exchange for Tillman.

A league source confirmed to MassLive that Boston is also sending out Lamar Stevens to the Grizzlies as part of the trade. Stevens is on a veteran’s minimum deal and his salary will allow for trade matching with Tillman’s modest $1.8 million salary. The move will allow Boston to maintain their $6.2 million Grant Williams traded player exception and maintain an open roster ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.


Tillman has spent time as a starter and reserve in Memphis this season and is also dealing with a knee injury. He’s averaging 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game over 34 contests including 13 starts while averaging 20.6 minutes per game in his fourth NBA season.


League sources tell MassLive that Boston is likely to make another move ahead of the trade deadline in the wake of the Tillman deal. Brad Stevens has been open about wanting to add more wing depth to the roster and losing Stevens in the Tillman deal could be a sign the team plans to bring in another body at that spot.

Boston still has six future second round draft picks available for trade including two for the 2024 NBA Draft. The team also has three future first round picks among their assets.

Tillman is earning $1.9 million in the final year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Boston will maintain Bird Rights on him as he hits free agency.


Bob


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If this was just a swap with no picks going out the deal would be a wash with a sheet of fabric softner coming back.

We need more offense off the bench so the Celts need another deal.

We got a back up small 5 in Tillman.  We lost a wing in Stevens.  Brad needs to get another wing, either before the deadline or pick someone up after it.


Bob


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Bob


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I think the move is about defense.  His offensive rating is around 102.

Best games against Clippers, Denver, T wolves and NYK.

All physical teams.

See his splits below

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/4277964/xavier-tillman

A couple of things I've learned about Tillman:

He's 6'8", 245# and a 7'2" wingspan.

He is averaging 1.7 apg and .9 TOpg this year. That's 1.88:1. Last year he was 1.6 apg and .7 TOpg, for 2.29:1. Not big numbers, but he isn't a liability with the ball, and that's nice in a big.


Bob


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dboss wrote:I think the move is about defense.  His offensive rating is around 102.

dboss,

Yes, this is absolutely about defense. His OffRtg this year is 98, his DefRtg is 109. That's the bad news. The good news is that, despite this year being a NetRtg of -11, his career ratings are 116 OffRtg and 109 DefRtg for a NetRtg of +7. Last season his numbers were 129 and 109, for a Net of +20.


Bob


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Tillman is an upgrade over Lamar Stevens.

Surrounded with good players on the 2022-23 Grizzlies team, he was a decent contributor. His role was to keep defenses sufficiently honest when he was on the floor: not ignore him. Kornet doesn't shoot 3's either. Tillman can contribute at the same level or better.

Brad improved on the fringe. With the current team, that is likely the best that we can expect. Unless he can trade Jrue for Luka.

https://subtsakalidis.substack.com/p/xavier-tillman-john-konchar-defense-grizzlies?utm_medium=ios

Xavier Tillman has always been a sound defender, but his recognition as a steady defender has taken off over the past calendar year. With Steven Adams’ injury, he was thrusted in a pivotal role defensively. As the Grizzlies deploy a roaming strategy with Jaren Jackson Jr., Tillman has been assigned a stopper role to the opponent’s best frontcourt opponent. His versatility has shined with his assignments. He guards big men like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Anthony Davis, but he can also pivot to forwards like LeBron James, Zion Williamson, Kawhi Leonard, or Paul George.

He’s thrived in this role, because of how he nails down the technical elements behind defense. And while his performance as a stopper shines brightest in his defensive performance, his event creation from the 5 is elite.

There is only one player in the league with block and steal percentages greater than 2.5 — garbage-time minutes filtered out. Yep, Xavier Tillman.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/tillmxa01.html

gyso wrote:https://subtsakalidis.substack.com/p/xavier-tillman-john-konchar-defense-grizzlies?utm_medium=ios

Xavier Tillman has always been a sound defender, but his recognition as a steady defender has taken off over the past calendar year. With Steven Adams’ injury, he was thrusted in a pivotal role defensively. As the Grizzlies deploy a roaming strategy with Jaren Jackson Jr., Tillman has been assigned a stopper role to the opponent’s best frontcourt opponent. His versatility has shined with his assignments. He guards big men like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Anthony Davis, but he can also pivot to forwards like LeBron James, Zion Williamson, Kawhi Leonard, or Paul George.

He’s thrived in this role, because of how he nails down the technical elements behind defense. And while his performance as a stopper shines brightest in his defensive performance, his event creation from the 5 is elite.

There is only one player in the league with block and steal percentages greater than 2.5 — garbage-time minutes filtered out. Yep, Xavier Tillman.

gyso,

A very interesting article. Thanks.


Bob


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https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2024/02/examining-sneaky-benefit-of-xavier-tillman-trade-for-celtics.html



Examining sneaky benefit of Xavier Tillman trade for Celtics


Published: Feb. 07, 2024, 8:32 p.m.


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



The Celtics made an important upgrade for the present on Wednesday acquiring Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman for Lamar Stevens and two second-round picks. The move fortifies Boston’s frontcourt in the present, and brings aboard some defensive versatility to play behind Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. With Luke Kornet already playing well in a limited role, the Celtics will likely stand pat with their frontcourt now and seem unlikely to add another big despite showing interest in Kelly Olynyk and Andre Drummond earlier in the week before the Tillman deal.


On the surface, the Tillman trade looks like just a rental for Boston. The 25-year-old center makes just $1.9 million in the final year of his four-year contract and will become an unrestricted free agent after the season. However, this could very much be a deal for the future as well for Boston given the roster limitations that could come into play this offseason.

While Tillman will hit the open market in July for free agency, the Celtics will still maintain Bird Rights on Tillman as part of the deal. This is important for the Celtics as they try to build out a rote for next season. Boston is currently expected to be above the second apron for next year with their current payroll commitments and that will prevent them from having access to the mid-level exception.

Boston will also have other roster-building disadvantages in that scenario including the inability to aggregate salaries, send out cash or use a preexisting TPE in any trade. Those restrictions will make it very challenging to add more talent to the roster beyond players willing to take the veteran’s minimum. The Celtics simply don’t have much movable salary on their roster for the future.


The Tillman acquisition now will give Boston an alternative to combat in free agency. The team will retain his Bird Rights so they will be able to offer him any size contract they want. Naturally, Tillman’s next deal won’t break the bank but adding more depth in the frontcourt over the long-term behind Porzingis and an aging Horford should be a priority for Boston. Tillman’s acquisition allows them to do that in a way that free agency wouldn’t.

Whether or not Tillman makes a major impact in the short term remains to be seen. He has the tools to provide some defensive versatility on the perimeter and is a much better matchup against more physical bigs than Kornet. Don’t underrate the value of what the Tillman acquisition could mean for Boston’s future though. Keeping together a balanced contender with depth will only get tougher for the Celtics as this decade continues but Tillman gives them one more option on that front for next season.


Bob


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Xavier Tillman trade: What Celtics fans need to know about new addition

https://sports.yahoo.com/xavier-tillman-trade-celtics-fans-204846681.html

Nick Goss
Wed, Feb 7, 2024, 7:03 PM EST·4 min read

Xavier Tillman trade: What Celtics fans need to know about new addition originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics have made a move ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

They acquired forward Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Lamar Stevens, a 2027 second-round pick (via Atlanta) and a 2030 second-round (via Dallas).

Tillman gives the Celtics more frontcourt depth for a low cost. His scoring production has dropped off this season, but defensively he still ranks very high in many different metrics (more on that below).

The Celtics could still make another move ahead of the deadline. Another guard or a wing with size would be a nice pickup.

Here's what Celtics fans need to know about Tillman.

Age
25

Position
Forward

Height/Weight
6-foot-7, 245 pounds

2023-24 Stats
Tillman is averaging 6.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He's shooting 40.8 percent from the field, 41.9 percent from the free throw line and 22.6 percent from 3-point range. Tillman averaged 20.6 minutes in 38 games played (13 starts) for the Grizzlies this season.

Contract
Tillman is on a $1.9 million expiring contract. He is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Celtics "will inherit his bird rights and can sign him in the offseason despite their financial limitations."

How will he help the Celtics?
Tillman won't be expected to provide much offense. He's a bad free throw shooter and doesn't take (or make) many 3-point shots. In fairness, some of his lackluster offensive numbers can be attributed to the lack of high-end talent around him on an injury-depleted Grizzlies roster this season.

His real value comes on the defensive end of the court, where he brings much-needed physicality and versatility.

Tillman is a very good defender. He can guard multiple positions, including big men. He's quick enough to stay in front of perimeter players and strong enough to prevent bigger players from getting deep low-post position. He can be used at center in small-ball lineups.

Tillman played a key role for the Grizzlies in the playoffs last season. He averaged 8.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in the Grizzlies' six-game first-round series versus the Los Angeles Lakers. He played 30.5 minutes per game in the series.

Tillman won't play that much for the Celtics in the 2024 playoffs, but the fact that he is usable in important postseason minutes is valuable. Every championship-winning team has plenty of games during their playoff run in which bench players need to step up and contribute. Tillman's size and strength could prove useful guarding players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, etc. in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

My comment:  There's so much embedded content in this article.  Click on the link to see reactions and highlight videos.

Except:

Well, using the Derrick White trade as the Brad Steven's Benchmark, our initial reactions to Tillman coming on board satisfies Part 1...Who & What TH/F?!! The latter posts on this thread also satisfies Part 2 of a Brad Steven's deal...Something (Diamond in the Rough) for Nothing. (Two 2nd's in the far future for a good solid defensive, reliable bench player.) Part 3 is yet to be determined. If Tillman completes the season with us and we're calling him DW, Jr. or better DW, Sr., then we can check the Part 3 box. Derrick is amazing and has set the Brad Deal Bar ridiculously high but still attainable. We need to come up with a nickname for him because Banner 18 this year will hinge considerably on him.

Thank you all for your posts on this. You guys and gal are the best at quickly deciphering and analyzing trades and whether they work/why they will/won't work! I'm clueless here!

db

Glad we got him, our defense has been terrible of late, he can defend 3-5 in an Anthony Mason style that no one on the roster does. On a winning Grizzlies team last year, he played alot of minutes. I see him mostly as a 4 for us opposite either J. We just got our enforcer.

Good. It's not just me observing our porous defense at times. Last night vs. ATL I found myself looking for ATL to miss a couple of possessions in a row so we could get a lead going, but we'd just trade open 3's with them so no traction, momentum or lead expansion. Or matching KP assisted dunks on the very next play for ATL.

Glad for the victory. I know everyone has the ASG break on their minds before coming back for the final push. KP sees deficiencies on opponents defenses and goes to it like stink on crap. Could have used Jrue out there to plug up some defensive holes we had. No one will ever remember this game.

db

Last year, we had Batman on our side. He left, but now we have Professor X!!

Wolverine is lurking around, maybe we should sign him, he has great slashing moves to the basket (I am told).