Boston Celtics: Cs have “expressed interest” in Magic’s Nikola Vucevic

According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Boston Celtics are one of several teams interested in pursuing the likes of All-Star center Nikola Vucevic:

"“The Heat, [San Antonio] Spurs, [Boston] Celtics, and [Charlotte] Hornets have all expressed significant interest in acquiring All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, league sources say…”"

O’Connor did add that other executives from around the NBA are “skeptical” that Orlando actually goes through with a deal, however, any team that has the resources, including the Boston Celtics, should being actively shopping for Vucevic.

The 30-year-old big is in his 10th season, yet is posting the best season of his career. That could be because he is trying to show contenders he can be a championship-caliber center — and teams should believe him.

Vucevic is posting averages of 25 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists per game. The most impressive aspect of his game is his shooting a stellar 42 percent from beyond-the-arc this year on a career-high 6.5 attempts per game.

He is a prototypical stretch big and can fit on any squad.

His defense leaves much to be desired, however, as he is currently posting the worst defensive rating of his career at 110. He is a 22nd percentile pick-and-roll defender, worse than any of the bigs on our team.

While his offense is tailor-made for today’s NBA, his defense is far from it. He is quite slow and has to be played in drop coverage, which puts a cap on a team’s defensive capabilities.

He can shore up the Boston Celtics rebounding issues

Boston is the sixth-worst defensive rebounding team, and Vucevic is tied for second-best in the same category. That seems like a match made in heaven, being that Boston allows the eigth most offensive rebounds per game.

Plain and simple, the Magic big man creates more opportunities for any team he plays on, and the Cs could really use that.

The 2x All-Star’s ability to space the floor is another extremely valuable aspect of his game. As detailed before he has become one of the league’s best shooting big men.

In fact, out of all the centers in the NBA who attempt at least four threes per game, Vucevic leads the way in regard to conversion percentage. His shooting would allow the Boston Celtics to go smaller and faster and would eliminate the dreaded double-big lineup altogether.

Do the Boston Celtics have what the Magic want?

The main question for Boston is what would they have to give up to obtain the All-Star big?

We here at HH have been doing mock-trades for a while now, but it is hard to find a win-win for both sides.

The Magic have been quite adamant about keeping the big man, Kevin O’Connor reporting:

"Executives around the league say Orlando has shown no interest in moving Vucevic. He’s a favorite of Steve Clifford’s coaching staff and a centerpiece of their offense; though the 30-year-old may not be part of their long-term future, he’s an important piece to facilitate development of their young players."

Any Cs fan is probably disappointed to hear that, however, you must realize a trade would be very hard to find here. I’m sure the only way Orlando parts with Vucevic is for a combination of young guys, veteran leadership, and picks.

We could package Kemba Walker with Payton Pritchard or Timelord and picks, but that would leave us with virtually no playmaking, and no bench.

Other than that, the Celtics don’t have many options.

A trade for Vucevic would be quite expensive, and does it even make the Cs all that much better, accounting for what they give up?

A long-talked-about issue in Boston is the inability to match up with Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, or Bam Adebayo and Vucevic offers no help in that category.

The Celtics need more playmaking, and while he does open up the floor more, he does not offer much in terms of passing, or ball movement.

The Celtics need bench help big time, and all Vucevic can give you there is forcing Daniel Theis or Tristan Thompson to the bench.

Even though the idea of adding Vucevic to this squad is quite fun, it’s unrealistic. I wouldn’t get your hopes up on this one, Cs fans.

Boston would be better off building on the margins instead of going all in for a big piece. Building around the Jays, giving them a solid bench, and surrounding them with solid playmakers is the best thing the front office can do.

If a trade is done for Vucevic, I will eat my words, but let’s look to other ways of improvement first.