Boston Celtics: “Wouldn’t be surprising” if Cs pursued a big, per B/R

This offseason, the Boston Celtics have been linked to quite a few players on the trading block. Bleacher Report allegedly sees one player in particular as a “need to target” talent.

It’s no secret that the Houdini believes the Boston Celtics must make moves this offseason to better position themselves for a run at glory in the near future. Despite taking the Miami Heat to Game 6 of the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, it’s evident that the team was missing that extra oompf that title-contending squad typically possess.

While the Cs rostered one of the best cores in the entire NBA in 2019-20, there still proved to be various weaknesses within the rotation that, ultimately, aided in their postseason demise.

One of Boston’s biggest concerns moving forward lies within their frontcourt, specifically at their center position.

Though they possessed one of the most underrated starting pivots in the association last year in Daniel Theis — averaged 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 blocks per game and finished second to only Rudy Gobert in real defensive plus-minus –, the position’s production proved to be a sore spot for the shamrocks during their bout against the Heat in round-three, especially when Bam Adebayo was found on the hardwood.

Because of this, we believe it is vital for the franchise to look into bolstering the five-spot this offseason.

This feat can be achieved in many different ways. From the NBA Draft to free agency, we here at Hardwood Houdini have seemingly covered every vertical.

One of our favorite hypothetical routes in which Boston could take in trying to bolster their center rotation this offseason, however, is via the trade route, where we have concocted a plethora of deals that would improve the position.

Recently, Bleacher Report writer Mandela Namaste penned a piece entitled The 1 Player Every NBA Team Needs to Target This Offseason and, sure enough, we saw a big man linked to the Celtics.

That man: Indiana Pacers starter Myles Turner.

Namaste’s reasoning read as follows:

"Per Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Turner might be on his way out of Indiana, and if he indeed left, it wouldn’t be shocking. His fit with Domantas Sabonis is tenuous, and if made to choose between the two, the Pacers would probably pick Sabonis, who made his first All-Star team in 2019-20.However, while Turner’s offensive stagnation has been the barrier between a middle-tier Pacers team and genuine contention, he’d be a luxury on that end for the Celtics, who need the big man more for rim-protection purposes. The Texas alum isn’t as proficient a defensive switcher as hyper-modern Boston might prefer, but he’s got enough going for him in other aspects of the game that such a shortcoming could be overlooked.The Celtics are seemingly always lurking in the shadows of the trade market, but they’ve got real cause to make a major move this fall."

The idea of the Boston Celtics pursing Turner is nothing new to the Houdini. In fact, we even created a 3-team scenario in which both Turner AND Ben Simmons head to Beantown.

We personally think the 24-year-old would fit perfectly within this current rotation. Posting averages of 12.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game on 46 percent shooting from the floor and 34 percent shooting from deep, the Texas native’s style of play would fit in perfectly with this current Cs team, while his age would allow his career timeline to fall in line with the team’s primary building blocks in Jayson Tatum (22) and Jaylen Brown (24).

As stated by Namaste in the article, “it wouldn’t be surprising to see general manager Danny Ainge explore the starting center market.” If this turns out to be a reality — and we absolutely hope it does — Myles Turner would be the ideal player to have on their radar.