In a three-team trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets, the Celtics have acquired Tyler Zeller from Cleveland, Marcus Thornton from Brooklyn and a top-ten protected 2016 first-round pick from Cleveland, according to multiple reports.
Cleveland sent Jarret Jack and Sergey Karasev to Brooklyn, and the Celtics will send a future second-round pick to Cleveland to complete the deal.
The deal cannot be officially announced until July 10, when the league's moratorium period ends.
The deal was primarily made by Cleveland in an effort to clear cap space to acquire free agent LeBron James.
The Celtics used their $10.3 million trade exception that they acquired in the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett deal last summer. The exception would have expired on Saturday.
Zeller, 24, averaged 5.7 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes per game last season. He gives the Celtics a rim protector and a promising young big man.
Thornton, 27, played for the Sacramento Kings and Nets last season and averaged 9.8 points per game.
Zeller and Thornton come relatively cheap. Zeller is scheduled to make $1.7 million this season, and the Celtics hold a $2.6 million option for him next season. Thornton will make $8.575 million. His deal expires after this season.
This deal now gives the Celtics a better package to put together in an attempt to acquire Kevin Love.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has been relentless in his pursuit of Love, according to Yahoo Sports.
A league source told the Boston Globe on Monday that Ainge is attempting to acquire assets to get Love, and this deal accomplishes that.
However, Ainge may not be done. CSNNE.com is reporting that the Celtics are "far from done" making deals this summer.
If Ainge is unable to acquire Love via trade, he has now put the Celtics in a nice position to sign him as a free agent next summer. Following this season, the Celtics will have approximately $33 million coming off the books and will have plenty of money to go after Love.
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