Mo Bamba
To those who follow our writing (thank you!), the name Mo Bamba being intertwined with the Boston Celtics is nothing new. Countless times we’ve covered the possibility of Ainge and co. striking a deal for the young Orlando Magic pivot.
Today, we do it again.
During his first season in the NBA, Bamba logged a majority of his minutes coming off the pine. Being the sixth overall pick in that year’s draft, it may seem odd to see someone selected so high playing in no more than a reserve role. However, when you roster an All-Star who plays the same position, it’s hard to question the reasoning behind this decision by coach Steve Clifford.
Behind Nikola Vucevic, Orlando was able to secure a playoff berth — its first in seven seasons– with a record of 42-40. He posted career bests in points, rebounds and blocks and, with his production, earned himself a new 4-year, $100 million contract.
With this lofty deal, it appears the Magic are all in on Vucevic being their starting center for the foreseeable future. So what does this mean for last year’s lottery pick, Mo Bamba?
Bamba, in fairly limited minutes, showed that at least one of the 29 other NBA team’s could use his presence at the five spot. With his terrific length, superior athleticism, the 21-year-old is a prototypical rim running and rim protecting virtuoso.
His fit with the Boston Celtics would be something of a match made in heaven. With their core five all being capable of creating their own shot, what they ultimately need is a solid screen setter, board gobbler and a defensive stopper to aid in their quest for championship number 18.
In regard to these attributes, Bamba isn’t just solid… he’s superb.
Per-36 minutes, the center averaged a solid 13.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per contest. To put this into perspective, in comparison to two of last year’s top big-man rookies, Bamba put up only one less rebound then Deandre Ayton (12.0) and about two more blocks than both Ayton and Marvin Bagley (per-36 minutes).
A player with Bamba’s talent usually requires a substantial haul, given he’s still on his rookie scale contract, That being said, the Magic are not a franchise known for being able to extract the most out of their trade pieces (think back to their mishandling of the 2012 Dwight Howard trade).
Danny Ainge, however, is.
If Boston could put together a package revolving around Carsen Edwards and Grant Williams (two rookies who look like they could soon be contributors at the pro level) and the right combination of draft picks, perhaps Bamba could one day don the green and white.