Former Gonzaga center Kelly Olynyk drawing interest for potential Boston Celtics reunion

The Boston Celtics may be looking at a familiar face to upgrade their frontcourt ahead of the NBA trade deadline next week. Utah Jazz big man Kelly Olynyk is drawing trade interest from both Boston and the Miami Heat, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports.

The 6-foot-11 big man out of Gonzaga has primarily started at power forward for the Jazz this year, averaging 11.9 points while shooting a career-high 40.6 percent from 3-point range under new head coach and former Boston assistant Will Hardy.

So what exactly would a deal with the Celtics look like? Let’s take a look at the particulars of this situation to see if Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge could work out a trade that makes sense for both sides.

Olynyk’s contract

The big man is in the second year of a three-year deal with the Jazz. He’s earning $12.8 million this season, which would be far too big to fit into any of Boston’s TPEs. However, the rest of his contract would be appealing to Boston since only $3 million of his $12.2 million salary for the 2023-24 season is guaranteed. That would allow Boston to waive and stretch him after the year without taking on a hefty luxury tax cap hit for his higher salary next year.

Trade compensation

Olynyk is having one of the best years of his career from an efficiency standpoint, shooting 49 percent from the field and 83 percent from the line. He’s declined a bit in a few areas (rebounding is down, turnovers are up) but some of that is a byproduct of him playing power forward as opposed to center most of the time he’s on the floor. He’s on a reasonable contract but at age 31 is clearly not part of Utah’s long-term plans. That makes him a name that Ainge is surely shopping on the trade block during the next week.

The Celtics would need to use Danilo Gallinari’s salary in order to get a deal done if they do not want to move any core rotation parts (a fair assumption). That would involve including some player value in the deal for Utah so Payton Pritchard would be a potential fit on that front. The inclusion of Pritchard/Gallinari/Justin Jackson for Olynyk would work from a salary-matching standpoint, although the Jazz might insist on some draft compensation (second-round picks?) for taking on Gallinari’s bloated contract for next year.

Final Thoughts

Trading for a player like Olynyk (and filling the roster spots for those others involved in a hypothetical deal) would cost Boston about $10-15 million in salary and added luxury tax penalties for the proposed deal. While Olynyk would provide some nice frontcourt depth and another shooting option on the perimeter, that money (plus Pritchard) would be a hefty price to pay in a trade. It would also open a hole in Boston’s backcourt so the Celtics would need to seek out another reliable guard to take Pritchard’s spot for depth purposes which would be easier said than done.

All things considered, it’s a conceivable move but the Celtics are better off looking elsewhere for now for cheaper and more impactful additions.