As MassLive’s Brian Robb explains, there was a specific reason the Boston Celtics guaranteed the contracts of Dalano Banton, Luke Kornet, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Lamar Stevens ahead of the January 10 decision date to do so: to set up a corresponding move ahead of the February 8 trade deadline.

“The fact their contracts are guaranteed now does not mean they will finish their seasons in Boston though a source tells MassLive,” Robb prefaced before saying, “The Celtics could still elect to package several minimum salaries and another player(s) to make a deal for a player who would not fit into the $6.2 million Grant Williams trade exception. Stevens and Mykhailiuk’s salaries could be valuable tools on that front whereas waiving them this weekend would have made salary matching in that type of deal even tougher for Stevens.

“Ultimately, multiple league sources have indicated to MassLive that the Celtics are strongly expected to make some kind of move ahead of the trade deadline. Keeping the team’s roster fully intact now past the guarantee deadline keeps more potential opportunities open for getting a deal done to bolster the back end of the roster.”

Boston Celtics must explore big man addition, ahead of 2024 trade deadline

This writer used to think that the big man position could be maintained by Kornet and Neemias Queta, but the fact of the matter is that the latter is still too green to be relied on by the green, and the former is clearly not the answer — because if he was, he wouldn’t have had any suspense when it came to his contract being guaranteed in his fourth season with the team, and second consecutive full season.

That Boston has four players they don’t plan on keeping long-term shows how deprived this franchise is of meaningful bench pieces beyond Al Horford, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser. Given Horford’s age and Kristaps Porzingis’s injury-proneness, a big man may be the most important addition to explore ahead of the deadline. Oshae Brissett may just be the big wing Stevens recently declared the Cs need, and the ball-handler rotation being just three deep is acceptable considering the dearth of minutes in the backcourt behind big minutes-getters Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, and Pritchard.

Larry Brown Sports’ Darryn Albert believes top Boston Celtics trade target Chris Boucher would provide the Cs with what Luke Kornet currently does not: legitimate floor-spacing from an offensive repertoire beyond five feet and legitimate rim protection.

“These days, Boucher still doesn’t get many minutes for the now-rebuilding Raptors (a miniscule 14.2 per game off the bench this season),” Albert prefaced before saying, “But he is a strong shot-blocker and a switchable overall defender who also has at least some ability to space the floor with a three-point jumper. That is something the Celtics do not quite have with their current third big man, Luke Kornet.”

Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports shared his intel that Boston was in on Boucher during the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast.

“Chris Boucher… is someone I know the Celtics have liked for a while,” Fischer prefaced before saying, “He’s at $11.7 million.”

Luke Kornet rebounding deficiencies back-breaking for Boston Celtics this season: Analyst

In November, NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg revealed the C’s plan to find a more suitable third center to replace Kornet’s role in Joe Mazzulla’s rotation.

“The Celtics’ lack of pure size is well-documented,” Forsberg prefaced before saying, “The team is leaning heavy on 37-year-old Al Horford and the oft-injured Kristaps Porzingis. That has thrust Luke Kornet into a hefty role, and Boston’s defensive rebound rate is a team-worst 69.6 when he’s on the court.

“We’ve long suspected the Celtics will examine options to add big-man depth before the trade deadline, if only to help ease the burden on their centers during the regular season. Kornet has had encouraging moments but second-chance opportunities have felt like back-breakers at times this season — particularly when opponents are chipping away at runs.”

Boston’s front office has wanted upgrades all season, and MassLive’s Brian Robb revealed on January 8 that the Cs could plan to move on from Kornet’s, or any of the other non-guaranteed deals despite being guaranteed by Brad Stevens and Co.

The Boston Celtics’ supposed Grant Williams replacement for the 2023-24 season and possibly beyond, Oshae Brissett, could be the team’s prime internal candidate in Brad Stevens’ search for a big wing according to Inside The Celtics’ Bobby Krivitsky.

“A prime internal candidate to solve (Stevens’ big wing) search is Oshae Brissett,” Krivitsky prefaced before saying, “The six-foot-seven forward is getting and capitalizing on recent opportunities to prove he’s worthy of the role.”

On January 4, Stevens declared the only rotation need for Boston is a “big wing.”

“I would like to continue to see how we can find another big wing or so that can help us, and I think that could be from within, and I also think that we’ll continue to monitor free agency and trades,” said Stevens (h/t NBC Sports Boston). “But, again, the difference in this year and maybe other years is our tools are pretty limited from a dollars standpoint.”

Stevens also left the door open for Brissett, and every other reserve wing to seize the chance to fill that role.

“I don’t want to say that that person is not in the building because they might be right now,” said Stevens. “I’ve been very encouraged when our bench has gotten in games that don’t play how they’ve helped us I’m excited to see, as we go through this stretch, it’s five games in [seven] days and January is a tough travel schedule for our guys. There’s going to be more opportunities for those guys and that will be helpful as we head into February.”

Boston Celtics’ big wing role was designed to be filled by Oshae Brissett

Brissett was always designed to take over the Grant role in Boston’s big man rotation; with MassLive’s Brian Robb crowning the former Indiana Pacers second unit stud labeling him the C’s Williams replacement in free agency.

“Brissett is still just 25 years old and has shown enough promise in Indiana to be a useful depth piece for certain matchups,” Robb prefaced before saying, “He is also conceivably a very low-cost Grant Williams replacement (and a far worse shooter) if the team loses him via free agency or a sign-and-trade.”

So far, Brissett has not been that or had to be. The strength of the Boston Celtics’ top six has carried them through nearly every game. But with the season nearing the halfway mark, Brissett should do everything in his power to make Stevens avoid looking at the trade market to find that big wing; less lose the chance to make more in the summer when he can turn down his player option and potentially hit free agency.

Brad Stevens sung the praises of one of his most underrated Boston Celtics offseason signings, Neemias Queta, while speaking to Inside The Celtics’ Eric Jay Santos; claiming that it’s “obviously noted” how Queta has done thus far in his first few months with the franchise.

“He’s a hard worker,” Stevens said of Queta. “He’s been a really good player for us. We anticipated and communicated to him when we got him that he was going to be in Boston a whole heck of a lot more than Maine because we were going to have Al sitting on back-to-backs because Kristaps was going to sit a little bit here and there. We didn’t anticipate Luke getting hurt in warm-ups a couple of weeks ago, but now that he’s back here, we feel a little bit more secure there. He’s done a good job and it’s been obviously noted.”

Stevens went on to complement the entire frontcourt; one largely rebuilt in the offseason after Robert Williams III’s departure via the Jrue Holiday trade.

“No, they haven’t [surprised me],” Stevens said of the frontcourt. “They’re good players. And when you’re surrounded by good players, especially our guards and wings that we have, the job’s a little easier. You get to the rim, they’re either gonna throw it up to you or they’re gonna throw it out to the other guy for a wide-open three because your guy is on you. They’ve done a good job of fulfilling their roles.”

Neemias Queta likely to be retained by Boston Celtics

There’s a possibility Queta sees his two-way contract converted soon by the team, with the possibility having grown exponentially based on Stevens’ tone speaking of the former Sacramento Kings fan-favorite.

Should Queta be signed to a guaranteed deal, it could happen within the next month or so. Stevens has until January 10 to decide if he wants to keep Lamar Stevens, Dalano Banton, Luke Kornet, and/or Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. Of that group, Mykhailiuk is the likeliest to be cut.

Boston could guarantee all of their deals and flip all of them for a rotation piece in a two, three, or even four-for-one deal. Then Queta would be a shoo-in for an extension.