Sacramento Kings small forward Harrison Barnes is having an excellent season and the Boston Celtics are reportedly on the lookout for wing players, so perhaps they may be a match, wrote Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.
Anderson isn’t alone. The Boston media has also mentioned Barnes as a possible target for Celtics president Danny Ainge.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer also reported that multiple league executives believe the Celtics are “up to something.” The idea, again, would be to upgrade the wing and frontcourt positions.
As Anderson noted, the Celtics have a $28.5 million traded player exception from the offseason deal that sent Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets. Barnes is making $22 million this season. He is in the second of a four-year contract that totals around $85 million.
Barnes would undoubtedly be a fit next to the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker, and could be the type of piece to lift the Celtics to better heights.
Multiple reports suggest the Celtics may be willing to depart with centers Tristan Thompson or Daniel Theis, along with young shooting guards Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith. Both Langford and Smith are 21 years old and were selected with the No. 14 overall draft pick — Langford in 2019 and Nesmith in 2020.
Of course, the Kings may be in no hurry to make any major moves — given that they have won seven of eight and right back in the playoff race.
