Do the Boston Celtics really need another center?

Are the Boston Celtics going to have to make a trade for another center? That is the topic for today’s water-cooler talk at Houdini HQ.

Over the last few seasons, the Boston Celtics have been in need of a dominant big-man to control their center position. The C’s finally addressed the issue by drafting Robert Williams in the first-round of the 2018 NBA Draft.

Looking on to the 2019-20 season for the Boston Celtics, they were rapidly active in the off-season and brought in Enes Kanter, Vincent Poirier, and Tacko Fall to join Robert Williams and Daniel Theis to stack up their center position.

Daniel Theis has certainly been the most consistent and durable big-man the Celtics have at the moment. Theis has proven to be very valuable during his time in Boston. Although Thies is a true four, he is averaging 5.4 points while playing 21.7 minutes per game primarily in the center position.

Robert Williams is a player the Celtics are taking their time with in developing and progressing into a true NBA big-man. Williams has greatly improved from year one to year two, and it’s very noticeable.

While looking like a whole different athlete this season, the now “High Flying” Williams is averaging 5.9 points in 15.9 minutes per game this season. He has also impressively worked hard this off-season on his awareness in the painted area both on offense and defense.

Vincent Poirier was brought to Boston to do what he does best… jump around the court and work the glass. Poirier needs time to develop into one that the pace of the NBA, and the only way to do that is to give him the chance. He’s only found the court in the three games this season, averaging 1.3 points in six minutes per game.

Enes Kanter has been a great let down to start the season. After what appeared to be a promising off-season for Kanter, he has only played in one game this season due to a knee contusion.

Tacko Fall is the final center on the roster for the C’s. Due to the rules of the two-way contract, the Celtics can only have Tacko for 45 days. It seems like you don’t want to “waste” the time so early in the season when it comes to players on a two-way contract.

Now that the Boston Celtics currently have five centers on their roster, it still seems like it’s not enough to get the job done. There have been rumors that the Boston Celtics should look into trading for a center by the trade deadline.

By looking at the roster, it’s crazy to think the Celtics need another center. But if you watch the games, it’s apparent they need more size. Robert Williams is carving a role for himself and will hopefully provide the intangibles needed for a playoff run. But let’s play with the idea that the C’s are interested in trading for another center piece.

It seems like the Boston Celtics could still be interested in trading for the players they were rumored about trading for this past off-season. Two names quickly come to mind: Steven Adams and Clint Capela.

The Houston Rockets and Clint Capela agreed on a five-year $90 million contract with $80 million guaranteed. The contract is great for both parties as its fair for Capela, and easy to move for the Rockets if persuaded just enough.

Capela is a guy who averaged 16.6 points and 12.7 rebounds per game last season, and is admired by Danny Ainge. Per Steve Kyler, the Celtics and Rockets were in “pretty serious” trade talks for Clint Capela this past off season.

The other guy the Celtics were rumored to be interested in this past off-season was Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder. In 2017, Adams and the Thunder agreed on a pretty hefty 4-year $100 million contract.

Adams is a dominant seven-footer who can control the paint and averaged 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game last season. I don’t think that Steven Adams is the answer for the Boston Celtics, but the team would definitely like his production, and durability. I also think that OKC is probably building around Adams as well.

Another player that comes to mind is Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers. With the emergence of Domantas Sabonis, the front court for the Pacers is becoming a bit congested. The Pacers and Turner agreed on a 4-year $80 million contract with $70 million guaranteed. Turner will become an unrestricted free agent in 2023.

Turner is coming off a great season, in which he averaged 14.8 points per game last year. Turner has been injured for most of this season with an ankle sprain, while Sabonis is taking over that team. For the right package created by Danny Ainge, I think the Pacers would make a deal, as the addition of Turner could bring this Boston Celtics team to an entire new level.

The Boston Celtics have a habit of playing true power-forwards as centers, and I think that hurts them more than helps them. For example, Daniel Theis and Al Horford have commanded the center spot for the Celtics in more recent years. People seem to forget that Al is a true four and that the Atlanta Hawks got the best out of him while playing power-forward; that’s what originally put Horford on the Celtics map begin with.

By doing this, the Celtics typically only run with one big on the floor and In turn have problems with teams who are stacked with height, like the Philadelphia 76ers. I think it comes down to how well Brad Stevens can create the right rotation of his big-men, and give more minutes to guys like Vincent Poirier along the way.

If the Boston Celtics do decide to make a trade, I’d like to see them go after Myles Turner.  I could see a package created for the Indiana Pacers that includes Semi Ojeleye, Vincent Poirier, and one of their draft picks for 2020.

Failing that, a move should be made. All of this winning great, but regular season glory doesn’t mean much if the team can’t match up stylistically with their top competitors in the Eastern Conference.