After playing in just nine games with the Boston Celtics, forward Chris Boucher has reportedly been traded to the Utah Jazz, per ESPN insider Shams Charania. This move doesn’t come as much of a shock, as Boucher missed the Celtics’ two-game roadtrip in Texas due to personal reasons.
The first-year Celtic averaged just 10.4 minutes per outing for Boston and has entered one game in the last month. Despite serving the Toronto Raptors well off the bench for most of his career, Boucher never found his footing with the Celtics. Trading his small-scale contract opens up another roster spot for the Green Team and puts them about $3.6 million above the luxury tax line.
This deal, which was announced less than three hours before the 3 p.m. trade deadline, marks the second time this season the Celtics have done business with the Jazz. Boston also worked with Utah to trade away New England native Georges Niang in the offseason, and it’s no surprise the two front offices are close given their personnel.
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Former Celtics general manager (and shooting guard) Danny Ainge is now the CEO of basketball operations in Utah. Furthermore, Ainge’s son, Austin, was named Utah’s president of basketball operations back in June and used to work with the Celtics as a G League coach and front office executive. The close ties between the Ainges and current Celtics general manager Brad Stevens could continue to prove fruitful in the future.
As for the present, the Celtics might not be done dealing. Their previous deadline move, trading guard Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick to the Chicago Bulls for center Nikola Vucevic and a second-round pick, has not been finalized. Perhaps they’ll tweak that proposal or make another minor move to dip under the tax at the buzzer.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics deal Chris Boucher to Jazz just ahead of trade deadline