The Charlotte Hornets and Boston Celtics have had quite the relationship the last two off-seasons. After the 2018-2019 season, Kemba Walker left the Hornets to sign with the Celtics as a free agent. The Hornets responded by agreeing to terms with Terry Rozier. The Hornets didn’t have the salary cap space to sign Rozier outright so the Celtics helped the Hornets by arranging a sign-and-trade deal for the Rozier-Walker switch.
This past off-season, the Hornets returned the favor and then some by agreeing to a sign-and-trade with the Celtics to acquire Gordon Hayward. In return, the Celtics were able to acquire a trade exception of $28.5 million; the largest in NBA history.
Can the Hornets return look to this relationship they’ve formed with the Celtics to help them acquire forward Daniel Theis? In his 65 regular season games last season, Theis averaged 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game, all career-highs. This season, through 15 games, Theis is averaging 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 blocks, and shoots at a high percentage (62.9%) playing 22.7 minutes per game. He has shown flashes of dominance in his limited playing time scoring 17 points (66.7%), grabbing 6 rebounds and registering 2 blocks in 24 minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 24 and scoring 23 points (90.9%), and grabbing 10 rebounds in 27 minutes of action versus the Philadelphia 76ers on January 20.
While previewing the 2020 East Conference Finals, Josh Robbins of The Athletic reported the following from an anonymous scout in regards to the match-up between Theis and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat:
"“The (Daniel) Theis-(Bam) Adebayo matchup? That’s sort of a wash,” the scout said. “Theis is maybe the most underrated player in the league. He’s really good.”"
Theis excels in pick-and-roll, something that the Hornets used effectively with Walker and Cody Zeller in the past. He also has the ability to knock down outside jump shots; although he can hit from the outside, he is sometimes hesitant to take those opportunities and will hand the ball off. Hornets coach James Borrego is good at encouraging his players to take open jump shot opportunities, maybe hearing a new voice will help Theis.
Theis rebounds well from his position, something the Hornets badly need. The Hornets’ best and most consistent rebounding comes from their guard positions. He will also challenge offensive players at the rim, a problem the Hornets have failed to acquire talent to improve on for multiple seasons.