4 names to know for the Celtics’ mid-level exception in free agency

There's plenty of possibilities as to what the Boston Celtics will do with their $6.5 million mid level exception this offseason.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report even gave a couple names he's heard based on his intel. Along with those two, here are a couple other names that fill the need of a bench scorer, which the Celtics are targeting this offseason:

This was Fischer's first of two names, though Gallinari wasn't yet traded at the time his published. The 6-foot-10 forward spent the past two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks coming off the bench.

He averaged 11.7 points last season and 13.3 the season before. Last season he had shooting splits of 43.4-38.1-90.4 percent from the field, three-point line and foul line.

If San Antonio buys out his entire $21.4 million dollar contract, Boston wouldn't find much better mid level options than the 33-year-old to come off the bench.

Warren, an unrestricted free agent, was the second player Fischer linked to the Celtics. The former Pacers wing played four games in the past two seasons due to multiple injuries.

Those that watched basketball in the bubble during 2020 will remember that Warren was one of the league's hottest players, averaging 26.6 points in 10 games. One of those games was a 54-point outing in a win against the 76ers.

That being said, it's been a year and a half since Warren played in an NBA game. At still just 28 years old, if Warren can produce solid numbers off Boston's bench, that would play a pivotal role for them in another NBA Finals run.

These next two are just a couple of players that fit the Celtics, and would be reasonably realistic to acquire with their mid-level exception.

The 27-year-old Harris comes off averaging 11.1 points with the Magic this past season. His 43.4-38.4-87.4 shooting splits are solid enough to give Boston another bench piece to ease the scoring burden, so it isn't entirely on the starting five.

Right after winning the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors, Porter becomes an unrestricted free agent. With the Warriors already having so much money tied to the luxury tax, it seems as if Porter will need to find a new team.

When he played, Porter was a very helpful role player for Golden State. He only averaged 19.5 minutes per game, but his shooting splits were 49-40-78 this postseason.

Not only could Porter provide some slight scoring relief off the bench, but also some rebounding help as well. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward averaged 5.7 rebounds during the regular season, when he played more.

The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors met on Monday night for Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco. Keep scrolling for more photos from the game.

The Boston Celtics were reportedly interested in Knicks wing Alec Burks, who was ultimately traded along with Nerlens Noel to the Detroit Pistons. It apparently got to a point that an offer was on the table, before the C's pushed away.

Brian Robb reported at MassLive Wednesday that the Celtics flirted with the idea of a Burks trade, but they "turned down a Knicks offer of Burks into their [trade exception] earlier this month."

Boston earned a $17.1 million traded player exception (TPE) because of Evan Fournier, who went from the Celtics to the Knicks in a sign-and-trade last offseason. So if they went through with a Burks trade, it would have essentially become a Fournier-for-Burks swap with other assets.

The Celtics are allowed to use this exception to acquire a player without having to send any money back. So they can trade for a player who makes as much as $17.1 million, and they could do so while only giving picks in return.

Burks makes $10 million next year, implying that Boston likely passed on the trade to find a higher caliber player with more of its TPE.

Burks averaged 11.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and three assists in 28.6 minutes last season. He also attempted 4.8 three-pointers a game, converting them at a 40.4 percent clip, although he also shot 39 percent from the field overall.

The Celtics still have time to make a deal, but not a ton, as Fournier's exception expires on July 18. President Brad Stevens will certainly use this deal, and seeing the general type of player he was potentially targeting in Burks shows what he'll probably trade for: a scoring wing.

Boston's depth was nonexistent in the NBA Finals. Its three most used bench players (Grant Williams, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard) combined for nine total points in the last two games of the Finals, hence the interest in Burks, a proven bench scoring option.

With absolutely zero inside information, here are some scoring wings that fit in the $17.1 million exception:

Beasley averaged 20 points in 2019-20 (with the Timberwolves) and 19 in 2020-21, before his role was downsized this least season, averaging 12.1 points. The 25-year-old wing could serve as an athletic shot creator for a Celtics team that craves any sort of productive bench scoring.

Huerter is still just 23 years old, and shooting a 45-39-81 percentage split from the field, three and free throw line. He's averaged 12 points the last three seasons and is a decent 3-and-D option with plenty of time to develop.

Kennard is the least likely of the three, as LA Times reporter Andrew Greif said the Clippers aren't looking to trade him, which conflicts earlier reports saying they were. He is the best shooter of the three players. Kennard averaged 12 points in 2021-22 and shot over 44 percent from beyond the arc the past two seasons. He also shot 89.6 percent from the free throw line this past season.

The Clippers have another player that fits the Celtics trade exception mold, and a familiar face at that. Marcus Morris averaged 15.4 points in 54 games this season, shooting a 43-37-87 split, the free throw percentage being a career best. The 32-year-old makes $16.3 million this upcoming season, then $17.1 million in the 2023-24 season before becoming a free agent.

Again, there's no further information here other than these three players are wings that score while making less than $17.1 million in the 2022-23 season. Regardless of who it may be, which could very well be someone not mentioned in this story, a Boston trade is going to happen in the next 25 days.