The Boston Celtics currently have 17 guys on their roster and all 17 of them could realistically make the team based on their talent but they have to cut two before the season starts. One of the cuts is more than likely going to be Zoran Dragic as he has been rumored to be waived since the Celtics acquired him in a trade. The other player that will not make the team is not as clear-cut and the Celtics have options. At first it was assumed that Perry Jones, who was also just recently acquired, would be the odd man out but now that may not be the case.
One option the Celtics might have is to trade a big man since they have so many of them and Zach Lowe of Grantland believes that Jared Sullinger might be the most likely candidate to go. Lowe says that Sullinger has had conditioning issues his entire career (despite recent reports that he is in great shape), shoots a lot of threes without much success and will never be a good defender.
Sullinger is likely not going to start this upcoming season for the Celtics if he does stick around so it might make sense for them to deal him. Behind probable starters David Lee and Amir Johnson the Celtics also have Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk so losing Sullinger wouldn't hurt too much.
Another option the Celtics might have would be to trade Evan Turner, according to Jay King of MassLive.com.
"Not because I'm sold on Perry Jones, but because we know what Turner is, and he's probably not the best fit for the (Celtics) future," said a rival front-office figure.
Turner will be 27 when next season starts and is coming off an average season with the Celtics. Turner is a wing player and the Celtics just drafted two wings in the most recent draft in Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter. Add in Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and James Young and the Celtics are a little crowded on the wings as well.
Jones has yet to prove much of anything in the NBA but he is still only 23 years old and could possibly be an ancillary player for Boston moving forward while Turner likely doesn't fit in with their future plans. A couple of weeks ago it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Jones was on his way out of Boston but now a few interesting options have been brought up and the Celtics might look to trade one of their veterans and hang on to the young Perry Jones.
