The Boston Celtics could bring the traditional lineup structure back to the NBA by acquiring any of these true power forwards.
Jayson Tatum is a traditional small forward, but he’s been playing the 4 interchangeably the last two seasons for the Boston Celtics–first alongside Marcus Morris and then Gordon Hayward after Morris left.
And Hayward is the one who got the $120 million payday this offseason.
Anyway…the point is that Brad Stevens has leaned into small-ball in the modern era of the association. It has gotten him far, but admittedly it hasn’t gotten them far enough.
Don’t get me wrong; this isn’t in a put-down of that style of play. The Miami Heat just won the Eastern Conference with Jae Crowder as the power forward. It didn’t work going up against Anthony Davis, however.
The Houdini likes that Danny Ainge added a big body in Tristan Thompson, but given the success Grant Williams experienced in the starting lineup in 2019-20, we also like the idea of adding a more traditional power forward.
This is not to say these three guys are the exact ingredient to taking down the bigger lineups across the association, but having the added positional versatility would be too convenient to pass up.
Here are three traditional power forwards the Cs should pursue:
P.J. Tucker
The Houston Rockets have been wheeling and dealing this offseason, sending Robert Covington to Portland for Trevor Ariza and flipping him for Christian Wood in a sign-and-trade. In case you didn’t hear, they also just sent Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in exchange for John Wall.
The Rockets front office has trade fever this offseason, and if cowbell isn’t the only prescription, they should consider a P.J. Tucker trade. Tucker could alleviate the defensive burden Tatum faces bodying up bulkier bigs and opens up the floor with his proficiency with the corner 3-pointer.
Ainge should be eyeing up the 3-and-D veteran.