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What Should Boston do at Center?

By Eric Cross

WALTHAM, MA - JULY 5: New Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens (R) is introduced to the media by President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge July 5, 2013 in Waltham, Massachusetts. Stevens was hired away from Butler University where he led the Bulldogs to two back to back national championship game appearances in 2010, and 2011. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
WALTHAM, MA - JULY 5: New Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens (R) is introduced to the media by President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge July 5, 2013 in Waltham, Massachusetts. Stevens was hired away from Butler University where he led the Bulldogs to two back to back national championship game appearances in 2010, and 2011. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images) /
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Boston filled one of their two glaring holes by signing Gordon Hayward. Now, ​what do they do at center?

The Boston Celtics had two glaring holes to fill on this roster heading into the offseason. They addressed their need for another scorer/outside shooter when they agreed to sign Gordon Hayward to a max contract on the Fourth of July. Now the big glaring need left for Boston is a big man that can rebound and provide a steady defensive presence in the paint.

One option for Boston is to fill the spot from within with rookie Ante Zizic. The Celtics drafted Zizic with the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 draft but kept him overseas for another year. Now the seven-foot Croatian center is ready to come stateside and be a key contributor for Boston this season.

The extra year overseas seemed to do a lot of good for Zizic as he improved both offensively and defensively. Some scouts even said he would probably have been a lottery pick in last month’s draft. Zizic played in 20 games for Darussafaka Dogus of the Turkish league last season. In those games, he averaged 9.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 0.8 BPG while shooting 64.9 percent from the field.

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All of this was done in only 21.9 minutes per game. Another impressive stat is that nearly half (3.1) of his rebounds were on the offensive end of the court. That’s surely an area that will help a Boston team that was 22nd in the NBA in offensive rebounds last season.

Zizic is more of an old school, back to the basket kind of center. He’s not a guy that will step out beyond the arc like most big men try to do nowadays. However, that’s exactly what Boston needs. If Zizic can prove to be a formidable low post presence, that will cause opposing defenses to keep an eye on him and create some open looks for Boston’s wing players.

It remains to be seen just how much of an impact Zizic will have in his first season. However, he has the skills to be the big man Boston needs.

Another way Boston can go is making a deal for a star center like Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies. As soon as the Hayward signing was announced, then disputed, then re-announced, the rumor mills started churning as to what would be the next move for Ainge and the Celtics.

One of the first names rumored to be on Boston’s radar was Gasol. The youngest Gasol brother has put together a pretty solid career for himself. In his nine-year NBA career, he has averaged 14.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.6% from the floor.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 29: Marc Gasol
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 29: Marc Gasol /

His offensive game has become more advanced in the last few seasons too. Gasol averaged a career-high 19.5 PPG last season. He also started shooting regularly from behind the arc for the first time in his career. After taking a grand total of 66 three pointers in his first eight seasons, Gasol attempted 268 shots from deep last season and connected on 38.8% of them.

The Celtics already need to shed some payroll to sign Hayward. Even more cap space would need to be cleared to pull off a deal for Gasol. He is owed 72.3 million over the next three seasons if you include his player option for the 2019-20 season.

The NBA salary cap is set to be around 99.1 million for the 2017-18 season. Boston will likely have to part ways with at least two of Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, and Jae Crowder to make a Gasol trade happen. The aforementioned trio is on the books for around 20 million combined next season.

With all that being said, it seems very unlikely that Ainge will want to part with all three players. One or two, sure, but all three is highly unlikely.

Next: Someone Has to be Traded to Sign Hayward

In the end, I expect Boston to fill the void at center either internally with Zizic or with an affordable free agent signing. Boston could also elect to keep Al Horford at center and going small with Crowder at power forward. On the other hand, Crowder could be dealt in the next few days. The possibilities are endless. They might end up making another splash and get Gasol after all. Who knows? I’d sure love to be a fly on the wall in Ainge’s office right about now.

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