What is the trade value of each Boston Celtics player?

As the 2021 NBA trade deadline draws nearer, fans and executives alike are trying to envision how to put together the deal that will get their team closer to hanging a banner. But in order to create realistic proposals, you also need to know the value of what you have to work with.

The Boston Celtics, with their $28.5 million traded player exception (TPE) are front and center in more than a few trade proposals flying around the NBA media sphere, with plenty of speculation they will be among the more aggressive teams on the market ahead of the March 25 deadline.

But where to begin?

To get an idea of where the Celtics might stand in terms of the trade value of their players, The Athletic's Jared Weiss put together a primer of exactly where those players might stand in value to potential trade partners. We won't give you the full tiers or explanations Weiss uses to justify his valuation (you'll have to subscribe to get that perk), but we will give you a taste with the order he has the players in to sate your appetite. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1365384252255129600?s=20 Let's take a look at how Boston's roster stacks up:

1 - Jayson Tatum

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"With Tatum now locked into a long-term deal, there are probably five players in the NBA he would be worth trading for," opines Weiss. "He turns 23 this week and already is a borderline MVP-caliber three-level scorer."

2 - Jaylen Brown

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"He’s too good to be traded. Brown is a 24-year-old All-Star two-way wing in the first year of a below-max long-term deal," suggests the Athletic analyst. "He’s talked about being committed to the city of Boston even though he’s from Atlanta and there’s still a foot of snow in my backyard."

3 - Marcus Smart

AP Photo/Chris Szagola

"Has Smart’s value ever been higher, with the Celtics completely falling apart without him?" asks Weiss, justifiably. "The gap between his value to the Celtics and his league-wide perception has closed significantly in the last year-plus."

4 - Kemba Walker

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"A 30-year-old undersized max point guard battling persistent knee issues? A little tough to peg this one on the value scale," posits the analyst. "Walker is making $34.4 million this season with two years left on his deal, and he hasn’t been playing up to his paycheck for more than a full calendar year."

5 - Romeo Langford

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"Langford is another polarizing asset because of his draft position, recruiting history, flashes of skill and injury history," relates Weiss. "Langford was one of the top prospects coming out of high school before a freshman season at Indiana saw him fall to the edge of the lottery at the 2019 draft."

No. 6 - Robert Williams III

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"The Time Lord is starting to find his footing at the next level of his career," suggests the Athletic writer. "He’s a big-play force at both ends who is figuring what to do when he isn’t on the ball."

No. 7 - Aaron Nesmith

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"It’s likely if the Celtics are including Williams in a deal, it’s for a trade big enough that they would need to throw in Nesmith, too," proposes Weiss, likely accurately. "Nesmith is the ideal role player: A potentially high-level off-ball shooter who can attack closeouts, score in transition and play good all-around defense."

No. 8 - Daniel Theis

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"It may seem crazy to have Theis lower on the trade value ranking than Williams and Nesmith," offered the Athletic expert. "At least I hope it does if you’ve been reading our work here over the past year, as Theis has been one of the team’s best players."

9 - Tristan Thompson

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"It may be a surprise to see TT in the same tier as Theis," notes Weiss, "but he does have another year of team control after this one, and at $9.7 million, it’s a lot cheaper than most of the reliable bigs on the market this offseason."

10 - Payton Pritchard

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"It’s fair to wonder why Pritchard, who has essentially been the team’s sixth man this season, would be below fellow rookie Nesmith," offers the analyst. "Then you remember Pritchard is a month older than Tatum and two years older than Nesmith."

11 - Grant Williams

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"Though it’s been another weird season for Williams ... he established himself pretty clearly in the playoffs," observes Weiss. "Teams know he has the mental makeup to play at the highest levels with confidence and that is worth more than any skill projection. "

12 - Semi Ojeleye

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"Ojeleye has made incremental progress as an offensive player over the course of his four seasons in Boston and he has maintained his [38%] shooting from deep while nearly doubling his shots per game this year," relates the author. "He is the textbook 3-and-D bench player that most teams have at the edge of their rotation."

13 - Carsen Edwards

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"Edwards ... seems destined to bounce around the league a little while as his point guard skills round out before eventually finding a home as a fourth guard," says Weiss. "Right now his role in a trade would be to comply with roster limit rules and possibly end up with a team that still believes in his shooting potential."

14 - Javonte Green

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"As a minimum salary player, Green has shown enough quality half-court defense and impact as a cutter that a team acquiring him would probably keep him around for the rest of the year," we are told.

15 - Jeff Teague

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"[Teague's]’s finally come to life and put in three solid performances last week," offers Weiss. "It’s not enough to give him any trade value yet, and it’s unlikely a team would be sold in the weeks before the deadline."

16 - Tremont Waters

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"[Waters] had a great run in the G League last season, but has really struggled with the speed of the NBA whenever he’s gotten in the game," notes the analyst, "even in garbage time."

17 - Tacko Fall

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"What he has accomplished in a Celtics uniform has been impressive, as he has completely transformed his game to fit in the NBA," explains Weiss. "But he fits a very specific type of backup center role few teams really need and there are plenty of guys who can fill the role better." [jwplayer eVnA9Zz2-z6KDnl0B] This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=47311,47305,47291,47262] [vertical-gallery id=47314]

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