Boston Celtics: 5 veterans the Cs should pursue this offseason
By Chris Conte
Boston Celtics target No. 3) Thaddeus Young
The state of the Chicago Bulls is an interesting one.
By trading away two draft picks and two young players for a fringe All-Star caliber center in the middle of his prime, the Bulls are in no position to tank, but they aren’t good enough to contend.
They don’t have the flexibility to acquire more talent since they sent their first-rounders out for Vucevic, and no one is taking the big man off their hands.
That makes players like Thaddeus Young available to trade.
With no assets and no salary relief, the Bulls could be in the market to sell high on power forward, who, in my opinion, was the rightful Sixth Man of the Year.
The Boston Celtics could throw some of their younger pieces on top of a first-rounder or two to acquire the 33-year-old big. They would likely have to let Fournier walk due to Young’s expiring $14 million price tag but, seeing as Young could be argued as being better than Fournier, I don’t think Stevens would hesitate to pull the trigger on a deal like this if it was there.
At 6-8, Young can play the four or the small-ball five on either end of the court.
As a forward, Young would serve as a help-side rim protector on defense and as a tertiary screen and roller on offense. He can’t hit the outside shot all that consistently, but he has a reliable floater game and is an elite finisher, so he can play next to Horford who can stretch the floor.
At center, the veteran is a capable small ball presence that can hold his own against opposing bigs.
His value at the five comes on offense, where he can be a dynamic roll man and post-up player.
Young is an elite passer, combining unreal vision with precision and a soft touch to hit guys under the rim or behind the 3-point line.
Udoka mentioned he wanted the assist numbers for the Boston Celtics to go up and Young is just the guy to do that.
On an expiring contract, he makes Boston’s potential pursuit of Beal, Curry, or Lavine next offseason that much easier, and if he enjoys his time in Beantown, Stevens might be able to convince him to take a minor contract to stay with the club.
Young’s availability is entirely dependent on the direction of the Bulls and all we can do is wait for the rumors to surface.