The Marvin Bagley-Sacramento Kings union is in shambles, but are the Boston Celtics ready, willing, and able to capitalize on a potential free-fall of his trade value?
Well, President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens appears to always be ready for a player becoming available with all the maneuvering he has done already. The main questions surround the second two questions.
When it comes to being willing and able, that relies on what he’s willing to give up. Any of his youngsters could probably get a deal done, but is that worth it? Romeo Langford and Grant Williams have made major strides over the past year and Aaron Nesmith is just now getting proper professional experience after having a messy COVID-19 filled rookie year.
The mutual fit might not be there if the Kings want too much and the Cs aren’t willing to meet their asking price.
NBA Analysis Network doesn’t approve of a Marvin Bagley-Boston Celtics trade
NBA Analysis Network’s Kenneth Teape believes the existing competition in the Boston big man rotation could preclude him from finding his footing should a hypothetical deal go down:
"Bagley would have a lot of competition for minutes in Boston. First-year head coach Ime Udoka is still figuring out the pieces in his rotation, so adding another player to the mix may cause more of a headache than a solution.Robert Williams looks entrenched as the starting center, but veteran Al Horford is also in the mix. Grant Williams has a large role off the bench as well. Enes Kanter and Juancho Hernangomez are also on the roster but cannot break into the rotation."
Truthfully, only three frontcourt players would cut into Bagley’s minutes, as Teape admits that Enes Kanter and Juan Hernangomez are non-factors in the rotation.
That is an issue that Ime Udoka should be able to work around by having any two of the four bigs on the floor at the same time.
The real issue is whether or not Bagley would accept such a role with the Boston Celtics and if the franchise would even be willing to put up with all of Bagley’s baggage, which includes his management team calling out Kings management publicly.
That’s a question Stevens needs to mull over as the beginning portion of the 2021-22 season rolls on…without Bagley in uniform so long as he remains in Sacramento.