The Boston Celtics' failure to acquire Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans before Thursday's NBA trade deadline wasn't due to a lack of effort.
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix reported Thursday the Celtics made a serious attempt to trade for Bertans, but they were turned away by the Wizards.
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The reported asking price for Bertans was two first-round draft picks. The Celtics could have three first-rounders in the 2020 draft (their own, plus picks from the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks). The Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach reports the C's were reluctant to pay that price.
Bertans would've been an ideal trade deadline pickup for the Celtics as a bench scorer who can shoot a high percentage from 3-point range. The 27-year-old forward is averaging 15 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 42.9 percent on 3-point attempts.
The Celtics didn't make any trade before the deadline, which isn't too surprising given president of basketball operations Danny Ainge's history of midseason moves. Boston could still add players through the buyout market, which they've done several times during Ainge's tenure in charge.
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