Midway through November, following the Boston Celtics’ 114-98 victory over the New York Knicks, head coach Joe Mazzulla noticed that his bench was beginning to come together.

The coach of the Boston Bruins praised the team’s “ball movement,” “pride in defense,” and “new things” on the field. The arrival of our second unit changes the appearance of our press. For a few of possessions, we displayed the playing zone. We were able to switch around the pairings afterwards.Our second team is focusing on becoming known for its free-flowing аttаck while simultaneously challenging the status quo with innovative defensive strategies.

They continued to play solid defense even when they had оffensive rhythm issues. According to NBA.com, their opponents’ bench units are surrendering the second-fewest points per game.

Thanks to Al Horford and Payton Pritchard’s improved shooting as of late and Sam Hauser’s recent onslaught, the Celtics are receiving the two-way impact they needed from their bench.

While the Bruins’ front office and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens would like to take their time assessing the current roster, they need to keep talking to other teams in the league and keeping an eye on potential additions that could help them win Banner 18.

The 2023–24 season is young, but the four-year veteran has already experienced a drop in his minutes from 20.8 in the previous season to 18.7 so far this year. Shooting from beyond the arc is the six-foot-five wing’s strong suit; he has made 37.1 percent of his career attempts.

With just 1.9 attempts from beyond the arc this season, the 27-year-old’s three-point percentage has dropped to 32%. That follows 2022–23, when you made 33.9% of the 2.5 threes.

Konchar, on the other hand, missed 41.3% of his 1.8 attempts from beyond the arc in 2021-22. His previous season’s conversion rate was 37.5% on 1.3 attempts, thus this was a nice follow-up.

Those shooting totals are a good reflection of how little handling the Purdue-Fort Wayne product needs. The addition of a cheap alternative who is willing to take a role where he isn’t a rotation staple but who the C’s can rely on to maintain rhythm and provide more shooting off the bench would be a clear benefit.

The Grizzlies’ 4-13 record ranks them fourth-worst in the NBA. They have fallen behind in the extremely tough Western Conference because Ja Morant is serving a 25-game ban and a slew of players, including Marcus Smart, are out with injuries.

Between now and the trade deadline on February 8, that is what may encourage them to start selling. Although Konchar’s return is unlikely to be substantial, it would be more beneficial to obtain a second-round selection or a young player with potential if he is already benched by head coach Taylor Jenkins.

This season, Konchar will earn $2.4 million according to his contract. Following that, his three-year extension, for $18.5 million (or $6.2 million per annum), will become effective. With the signing-and-trade that sent Grant Williams to the Mavericks, the Celtics created a $6.2 million transferred player exception (TPE), which his agreement fits into.

And unlike with a traded player exemption, Boston can’t use Konchar’s salary to fund a future trade; that TPE ends on July 12, according to Spotrac.