NBA
Will Barton And The Boston Celtics Have Mutual Interest As The Trade Deadline Quickly Approaches
If the season ended today, the Washington Wizards would be in the play-in tournament. However, the bottom half on the East is very compact right now and there is minimal margin for error. With that being said, one of the Wizards veteran players reportedly wants out of his hometown team and is looking for a change of scenery. Will Barton and the Boston Celtics have mutual interest in each other, but a trade would have to happen in less than a week.
You can’t blame Will Barton for wanting to find a new home this season. His averages are well below his career marks and that’s due in part to falling out of the rotation at times. He’s played in 38 games this season and has had nine DNP’s.
With the Celtics possibly looking to add depth before the trade deadline, Barton could be on the move to joining the East’s best team. Massachusetts Sports Betting sites have the Celtics at (+375) to win the Finals this season.
There is mutual interest between Will Barton and the Celtics should the forward receive a buyout from the Washington Wizards, per @KeithSmithNBA. pic.twitter.com/aCTuoxwOFf
— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) February 2, 2023
Could the Celtics land this NBA veteran in a buy-out scenario?
Before this season with Washington, Barton had spent his previous eight seasons with the Denver Nuggets where he played 479 career games. Last season Monte Morris and himself were traded to the Wizards for Ish Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The 32 year old has been reported to have interest in the Boston Celtics and they have a mutual interest as well. If he was bough-out by the Wizards and then traded to the Celtics, Barton would join an already extremely talented Celtics bench.
Malcolm Brogdon comes off the bench for the Celtics and averages (14.4) points per game. Both Barton and Brogdon are players who could start on smaller market teams, but having them come off the bench is valuable to Boston. He currently has one year, $14.37 million left on his deal with the Wizards.
That contract would have to be bought out by the Wizards in order for Barton to able to potentially join the Celtics. Barton still feels like he’s the player he one was. His minutes per game are a career-low since the 2014-15 season.