Boston Celtics: Former lottery pick big man could become available ‘at the right price’
As it stands, the Boston Celtics have their big man rotation in place following a preseason in which Noah Vonleh revealed himself to be an adequate frontcourt option — this as the team awaits the return of Robert Williams III from arthroscopic knee surgery that will keep him out the first 8-12 weeks of the 2022-23 season.
At this point, it’s unclear if the Cs will need any more reinforcements. In addition to inking Vonleh, they signed Blake Griffin to serve as a presence at the end of the bench and in the locker room and have Mfiondu Kabengele on a two-way contract. Luke Kornet, who didn’t play in the team’s preseason finale, is seemingly a favorite of Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens and could find some floor time as well.
Should none of the four aforementioned frontcourt bigs prove incapable of holding down the fort in the absence of ‘The Timelord,’ it’s possible that the front office could pursue a deal for a center with rebuilding franchises once their records become bad enough to justify a fire sale.
In his latest Boston Celtics Mailbag, MassLive’s Brian Robb answered a question from a reader about who the team could pursue in a package involving Payton Pritchard and Danilo Gallinari’s dead money by offering San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl as someone that ‘could likely become available at the right price.’
Jakob Poeltl was once called a dream fit for the Boston Celtics
Back during the first week of free agency, CelticsBlog’s Keith Smith called Jakob Poeltl ‘kind of a dream fit,’ but added that the cost is ‘probably more than Boston wants to pay in terms of picks and then salary/tax.’
Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck has since encouraged President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens to spend whatever it takes to deliver Banner 18 in September, so luxury tax concerns appear to be alleviated, though giving up Pritchard for a potential one-year rental could haunt the front office if Gregg Popovich was able to get the most out of him on a rebuilding roster that could feature him.