Boston Celtics Rumors: Wizards outcast could solve point guard issues

The Boston Celtics remain invested in the mounds of trade rumors that are building up as we inch closer to the NBA Trade Deadline. With less than two weeks until February 10th, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of those rumors begin to turn into real trades.

As the Celtics continue to ride the line of mediocrity for the second straight season, it’s not exactly surprising to see Brad Stevens and the front office be more aggressive in searching for different ways to make this team better. After Danny Ainge managed to throw away what looked to be a surefire championship contending team, Stevens appears to be doing his best to ensure he doesn’t suffer the same fate.

And to his credit, Stevens has reportedly been quite busy as the deadline continues to draw near. And while he’s only pulled off one deal so far, it almost certainly won’t be the last. Recent rumors have said there is a slim chance that Dennis Schroder will be with the Celtics past the deadline, and it’s likely he isn’t the only player who has that same designation at this stage of the season.

Schroder’s struggles have been paramount lately, and it makes sense that different options at the point guard position are being explored. A recent development out of the Washington Wizards camp has said that their starting point guard, Spencer Dinwiddie, is likely to be moved before the Trade Deadline. If these rumors prove true, there’s good reason for the Boston Celtics to be interested in making a move for the veteran point guard.

The Boston Celtics might be the perfect fit for Spencer Dinwiddie in a number of ways

There weren’t many people expecting Dinwiddie to be available at the deadline considering the Wizards picked him up in free agency just last offseason. The Wizards landed Dinwiddie in a sign-and-trade deal with the Brooklyn Nets, with Washington handing him a three year, $54 million deal. And yet half a season into the deal, the Wizards apparently already have buyers remorse.

Dinwiddie made a name for himself as a solid scorer for the Brooklyn Nets before the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving/James Harden show made their way there. He helped Irving with the scoring load during the 2019-20 season, averaging a career high 20.6 points per game. Nobody really knew how Dinwiddie was going to factor into things once Durant and Harden showed up, but he ended up tearing his ACL early in the season, and he only ended up playing three games.

Dinwiddie found his way to Washington, and initially seemed to be a pretty solid fit with the team in his first season back from the injury. But as the season has progressed, it’s become clear that him and Bradley Beal do not play well together in the Wizards backcourt, and both have struggled as a result. Dinwiddie’s scoring output has taken a considerable drop since his 2019-20 season, and it seems like the Wizards style of play just does not fit him well.

Reports came out this afternoon that the Wizards want to get rid of Dinwiddie, saying “his teammates don’t want him there” and “he looks like a shell of his former self”. Those certainly aren’t the words you want to hear about a potential trade target, but it’s not necessarily as if Dinwiddie has been awful during his time with Washington. And even then, his playstyle is a much better fit in Boston’s system than Washington’s.

Where the Wizards are looking to run their offense through Beal for as much of the game as possible, the Celtics are still looking for someone to initiate their offense from the point guard position. Marcus Smart has done his best to try to fill that role, but he’s just not consistent enough in any aspect of the game aside from defense. Yet somehow, Smart is more consistent than Schroder, Boston’s other point guard option.

Dinwiddie isn’t exactly a natural playmaker, but he’s more of one than either Smart or Schroder are. Dinwiddie is averaging 5.7 assists per game this season, but during his breakout 2019-20 campaign, that number was all the way up at 6.8. The Wizards aren’t the most talented offensive team in the game, so it makes sense that Dinwiddie’s assist totals have plummeted. Playing alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in Boston would eliminate that problem.

Another aspect of Dinwiddie’s game that would be subject of much appreciation is he knows how to take care of the ball. Both Smart and Schroder are averaging over two turnovers per game, and it usually ends up being more than that. Dinwiddie on the other hand is only at 1.6 turnovers per game, which doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but when you handle the ball pretty much every possession, it’s actually pretty important.

Dinwiddie is a bit of a streaky shooter, but the Boston Celtics wouldn’t be bringing him in to sit at the perimeter and shoot. Similar to Schroder, Dinwiddie can get to the paint when he wants to, but when he’s covered, he has the ability to find a way to make a pass to an open teammate, which is something Schroder has proven to be incapable of thus far.

Speaking of Schroder, he would seemingly be the perfect piece to move in a deal for Dinwiddie. He could lead the Wizards second unit, allowing Beal to take control of the starting group for the rest of the season. Schroder is a capable scorer at times, and he could provide a nice change of pace from Beal off the bench.

Remember when I said Dinwiddie would be a perfect fit in a couple of ways? Dinwiddie’s contract just so happens to perfectly line up with the Celtics trade exemption from the Evan Fournier sign-and-trade from this past offseason. So Boston could conceivably do a Schroder for Dinwiddie swap and fit him onto their team through that trade exemption.

It’s seeming increasingly likely that Dinwiddie will be moved before the Trade Deadline, and he would be the perfect buy low candidate for the Boston Celtics. He’s clearly not a good fit in Washington, and now that news has publicly leaked that the team is looking to move him, they have lost a lot of leverage in their negotiations. It’s clear Schroder is going to be on the move too, so a swap of point guards may be in everyone’s best interests here.