This player is someone the Boston Celtics need to target at the trade deadline

Key Highlights:

• The Boston Celtics are a great team, but they need to add some more physicality to increase their chances at a title
• Isaiah Stewart gives them the physicality they need, at a price that they can afford
• Boston has the kind of team that can mask Stewart’s weaknesses

As we get close to that magical February 8th date, everyone wants to discuss potential trade targets. And while it is fun to talk about the big names like Zach LaVine, Dejounte Murray, and Alex Caruso, there are other more under-the-radar guys who can help swing the title race one way or another.

One of those names is Isaiah Stewart, who, in my eyes, could prove to be a crucial addition to the Boston Celtics during their (potential) title run this postseason.

Why Is He Even Available?

Okay, so why is a 22-year-old who just signed an extension that has him under contract at a reasonable rate through the 2027-28 season (roughly 16 million per year) be available in a trade?

That’s a great question. You see, Stewart is a valuable player, but his fit is tricky, especially on the Detroit Pistons. Now that classical centers are back, guys like Stewart (6’8) can’t play center for long periods of time. So, he needs to primarily play the power forward spot.

The issue with that is that Stewart isn’t a good enough shooter (22nd percentile on wide-open threes over the last three years, per Thinking Basketball database), a good enough attacker off the catch (30th percentile on drives efficiency), or a good enough passer (14th percentile in Passer Rating) to be a good offensive fit next to centers that fall in the traditional center archetype.

And since the Pistons (before their most recent trade) only sport traditional centers (like Jalen Duren and James Wiseman), the team hasn’t gotten the results they’ve wanted with him on the floor. That’s why, for the right price (more on this in a bit), a team may be able to swoop in and poach Stewart off their roster. 

What Stewart Needs To Succeed?

Despite struggling in those areas, Stewart still brings a lot to the table. He’s a great rebounder, screen setter, and switch defender (his Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus is in the 91st percentile, per Dunks & Threes). He’s also a 250-pound adonis who plays with an incredible motor.

To unlock Stewart and reap the benefits of his skillset, you want to pair him with a five-man with some offensive juice. Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics’ current starting center, provides that with his shooting, passing, and post-up scoring. He also compensates for the height (7’2) and verticality that Stewart is lacking.

Why Do The Celtics Need Him?

So, Porzingis and the Celtics provide a better context for Stewart. But that could be said about Boston and a lot of players. They are a great team, after all. Why exactly do they need to go out and give assets to acquire Stewart?

To win in basketball, you need spacing. But if you plan on winning it all, you also need physicality (especially if your spacing isn’t the best). The Celtics, with their beautiful 5-out offense, have great spacing. But they are lacking (in comparison to other contenders) in the physicality department.

It’s the reason that the Miami Heat keep giving them fits. The Heat are great at shrinking the court and taking Boston out of their drive-and-kick offense, and forcing them into uninspiring isolation possessions. Teams like the Heat are going to punch you in the face. To beat them, you need to punch them back. On offense, that happens with physicality and interior scoring – something Stewart can do by cleaning up misses from the dunker spot.

In Stewart’s case, his physicality will be especially important to Boston’s defense. Offseason additions Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have made the Celtics better. But they also lost Grant Williams, Robert Williams III, and Marcus Smart. That’s a lot of girth and physicality out the door, especially in a conference where the path to The Finals will likely go through guys like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo (and The Finals itself may have Nikola Jokic sitting there waiting for them).

The sample size is small, but Stewart has had success defending all three of these titans this season. According to NBA.com matchup data, Embiid, Antetokounmpo, and Jokic are a combined 11-for-37 (29.7%) on field goals defended by Stewart.

Here are some of those possessions:

With Al Horford closing in on 38 years of age and Porzingis being more of a shot blocker than an isolation defender, Boston could use Stewart to handle these kinds of opponents.

And the Celtics can enjoy Stewart’s physicality boost in lineups alongside Porzingis without sacrificing too much defensive versatility (because of Stewart’s ability to guard multiple positions) or spacing (he’s a decent enough shooter to be a good team’s worst shooter on the floor in the playoffs).

What’s It Going To Cost?

So, Stewart gives the Celtics the size and physicality they need in order to get over the hump, and Boston has the infrastructure in place to mask Stewart’s weaknesses. It sounds like a match made in heaven. But what will it take to get him?

In a recent edition of “NBA Study,” we tried to appraise the value of NBA stars by looking at past trades. In that article, we also attempted to determine the value of the role players that were involved in these deals.

Someone like Stewart (a flawed rotation player on a solid long-term deal who can be immensely valuable in the right context) should garner a late first-round or multiple second-round picks (or some combination of both) and a matching salary in exchange for his services. Even after the Holiday trade, the Celtics appear to have the assets in the treasure chest to make a deal like that happen.

And based on how perfect of a fit Stewart would be on their team, they definitely should.