On Wednesday, the Celtics added Grizzlies forward Xavier Tillman to their frontcourt.
The Boston Celtics upgraded their roster as soon as possible in an attempt to contend for an NBA championship, even though there was only one day left before the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon.
The Memphis Grizzlies are moving forward Xavier Tillman to the Boston Celtics in exchange for two second-round choices, according to a report published on ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday. Boston is shipping the Grizzlies, who are having a terrible season due to injuries, a 2030 second-round pick and an Atlanta second-round pick in 2027.
Due to the numerous injuries on the team, Memphis has relied more than normal on the 25-year-old power forward, who has struggled offensively this season with the Grizz.
This season, in 34 games with Memphis, the 6-foot-8 power forward averaged 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game. He also made 40.8% of his field goals and 46.9% of his two-point shots.
Tillman averages 4.3 rebounds per game and scores 6.2 points per game on 52.2% shooting from the field over his career.
With Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford in the frontcourt already, Tillman won’t be required to contribute much for the Celtics. He will, however, provide them with an additional rebounder because Boston has one of the NBA’s top rebounding units (55.3 total rebounds per game).
Boston is now +275 favourites to win the NBA Championship following the change. The odds of any other team are greater than +400, but that could change rapidly if another team makes a big trade deadline move.
