Boston Celtics: 3 reasons Donovan Mitchell is the preferred trade target over Rudy Gobert

Depth at the center position

While the Boston Celtics were once known to have a perceived problem at the center position, that has not been the case this season. Daniel Theis has stepped up and has become a legitimate starting center in the NBA.

Behind him on the depth chart is second-year Robert Williams, rookie Grant Williams and Enes Kanter. Kanter owns a player option for the 2020-21 season he is likely to opt into, giving the C’s a full stack of centers on the depth chart.

While Rudy Gobert is a superior option defensively to all of the aforementioned names, he comes at a much more exorbitant price tag. If the Celtics were a team that lacked defensive fortitude, it’d be a no-brainer to do anything possible to add the former Defensive Player of the Year.

The C’s defense is already among the most sturdy units in the entire association already, though. They rank third on the season behind just the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, who coincidentally (or not) are the only two teams ahead of them in the standings in the Eastern Conference.

The big man problem isn’t a problem, but bench scoring sometimes has been. Mitchell would obviously start on the Celtics, but Brad Stevens would have the option of staggering his, Walker’s and Tatum’s minutes to ensure there is a dynamic scorer who could create his own offense in the lineup at all times.