Boston Celtics: Former No. 6 overall pick floated as Cs big man target

With two consecutive losses to teams with size and strength in the frontcourt, it might be time for the Boston Celtics to start considering deals that would add talent to their own depleted depth chart down low to counter to bridge the gap between now and Robert Williams’ return from a knee injury.

In an 18-point loss to the Chicago Bulls, Nikola Vucevic looked like Shaquille O’Neal in an 18-point, 23-rebound, 5-assist effort for the Montenegrin center. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley went for double-doubles and the backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert scored a combined 82 points.

Evidently, Boston has big man issues that are proving to be a fatal flaw in both protecting the rim and crashing the glass. Luckily, there could be a somewhat obvious buy-low trade candidate that can fix that issue if his health permits.

That’d be Orlando Magic big man Jonathan Isaac, who missed the entire 2020-21 season due to a torn left anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that was suffered during the NBA restart at Disney and then missed the 2021-22 season after a minor right hamstring injury during rehabilitation. MassLive’s Brian Robb shined a light on the possibility of acquiring the 2017 NBA Draft’s No. 6 pick during his latest Celtics Mailbag:

"“Once Jonathan Isaac returns, it will be intriguing to see whether (Boston) would be willing to kick the tires on an odd man out in their rotation.”"

What the Boston Celtics could offer the Orlando Magic for Jonathan Isaac

The main trade pieces the Boston Celtics could offer Orlando for Jonathan Isaac to make the money work probably don’t interest the rebuilding Magic. Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White would be necessary, but they’d likely be re-routed at some point anyway.

Still, the inclusion of one of them, with the inclusion of a player like Payton Pritchard and additional draft capital, likely gets the deal done. While we don’t know how well Isaac will have recovered from injury, acquiring the former IMG Academy and Florida State blue-chipper is a roll of the dice that could potentially elevate Boston’s standing in the Eastern Conference.