The Boston Celtics are not just good in the 2025-26 season—they’re dominant, blowing past every preseason expectation and sitting atop a wide-open Eastern Conference. With the NBA trade deadline looming next week, Boston faces a delicious problem: stand pat with a roster that’s already clicking, or swing big to turn a great team into an unstoppable one, whether Jayson Tatum returns soon or not. The answer, if Brad Stevens is as ruthless as we think he is, is obvious: go all-in.
The glaring need? A true two-way center. Neemias Queta has been a revelation as the starter, and Luke Garza has quietly exceeded every projection, but the Celtics still lack the depth and dominance in the frontcourt to match up with the East’s biggest threats in a seven-game series. Enter Daniel Gafford—the athletic, rim-crushing big man from Dallas who could be the missing piece.
A proposed blockbuster has the Celtics landing Gafford in exchange for sharpshooter Sam Hauser (affectionately known as “The Sniper”), rookie Baylor Scheierman, and a 2026 first-round pick. The exact protections on that pick can be negotiated, but the framework makes sense for both sides. Dallas has a surplus of bigs and is going nowhere fast this season; Boston gets an immediate upgrade at the position it needs most.
Gafford isn’t just good—he’s a paint animal. Career 71.5% True Shooting is video-game efficiency. He lives above the rim, devours offensive rebounds, and finishes lobs with violence. Catch him the ball near the basket or let him crash the glass, and it’s two points almost every time. He doesn’t stretch the floor or create his own shot, but next to Boston’s army of playmakers, he doesn’t have to. He just has to catch, dunk, and clean the glass—something he does better than almost anyone.
On defense, Gafford brings real rim protection and enough mobility to switch or play alongside another big when needed. He was a key starter for the Mavericks during their Finals run two years ago (the one Boston ended), and he’s still only 27. Fresh off a three-year, $54 million extension that starts next season, he’s locked in at a reasonable rate for a starting-caliber center.
With Ivica Zubac now seemingly off the market, Gafford stands out as the most impactful big likely to move before the deadline. Losing Hauser will sting—his elite spacing and sniper-like shooting are a luxury few teams have—but trading him for a player who directly addresses Boston’s biggest weakness is the definition of prioritizing winning now.
This move doesn’t just patch a hole; it widens the championship window that was already cracked open. The Celtics aren’t content to be really good—they want to be historically great. Bringing in a 71.5% True Shooting paint destroyer like Daniel Gafford screams one thing: Boston is going all-in, and the rest of the East should be terrified.