Boston Celtics: 2 players on non-playoff teams to trade for this summer

Boston Celtics target No. 1) Nerlens Noel

Perhaps the area on the roster that’s in most need of being bolstered this summer is their center position.

While it’s evident that the Boston Celtics have, indeed, finally found a talent in Robert Williams III who, when healthy, can serve as their long-term franchise five, the problem is his injury woes are simply too big of a problem for this front office to ignore.

When he’s on the floor alongside the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Al Horford, this starting five easily plays well enough to warrant consideration for being one of the league’s best lineups and, in turn, should be considered a championship-worthy squad.

That said, when he’s not suiting up, the C’s have to significantly alter their scheme to better fit the available bigs they do have which, alas, means less security/ intimidation on the defensive end down in the paint and significantly fewer lobs at the rim, two aspects that have actually played a sizeable role in the team’s two-way successes this season.

Keeping things consistent when it comes to a title-hopeful squad’s gameplay is certainly something that should be highly coveted, and, considering that the pieces they have at the moment to help fill in for these vacated minutes aren’t exactly Time Lord-esque, Brad Stevens may want to look for a backup player who has a rather similar playstyle to their starting center and, should he do that, perhaps veteran big, Nerlens Noel, could be a player of interest.

No, the 27-year-old may not be that sexy name that fans of this storied franchise are always clamoring for, but he’s someone who could easily step in and provide a similar brand of play (albeit, not as high-end) at the pivot should Williams miss time which, based on his track record, he likely will.

Over his nine-year pro career Noel has made a name for himself as being a sound rim-runner and stout rim protector, putting up career averages of 16.2 points, 13.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.8 steals, and 3.3 blocks per 100 possessions on 55 percent shooting from the floor whilst boasting a stellar Defensive Rating of 101.

With his Williams-lite type of skill set coupled with his reasonable $9.2 million salary that runs through 2023-24 (final year a club option), the concept of buying low on the former lottery pick could be an intriguing move to make this summer.