Boston Celtics: NAN’s Christian Wood proposal is quite reasonable

The Boston Celtics have a big man problem — just as they did in 2019-20 and 2020-21. At last season’s trade deadline, Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens plugged the hole with Daniel Theis, but this past offseason he parlayed the German big man and other assets for Malcolm Brogdon.

The current campaign’s issues come from mileage on Al Horford’s tires and injuries to Robert Williams III. Luke Kornet and Blake Griffin are fine options in spurts, but there should be another big in the frontcourt to remedy them.

There’s a reason why most Boston Celtics-related mock trades bring back a big. Speaking of which, NBA Analysis Network came up with a proposal that brings back Christian Wood from the Dallas Mavericks:

"Dallas Mavericks Receive: G Derrick WhiteBoston Celtics Receive: F/C Christian Wood, G/F Frank Ntilikina"

Why the Boston Celtics do it

Christian Wood has a higher ceiling than Derrick White. Full stop. That alone makes this a good trade from the Boston Celtics perspective. The fact that no draft picks would have to be sent to Dallas is what makes this quite the reasonable proposal.

Add in Frank Ntilikina, and you could have two holes filled with one deal.

Ntilikina has not yet played up to his lottery pick status, but he showed the two seasons before this one that he can shoot the 3-ball efficiently. Though he’s a guard by trade, the Frenchman has the chops defensively to hang with most wings. If he could get his shooting stroke back — he’s shooting a career-low 23% on 3-pointers on 1.6 attempts per game in 2022-23 — Ntilikina could fill the other main needs besides the big man rotation.

Why the Dallas Mavericks do it

Without Jalen Brunson around, Luka Doncic is bearing a huge burden offensively for the Mavericks. Spencer Dinwiddie is a perfect No. 2 option in Dallas, but the Mavs could use more shot-creators. Derrick White, who has put up big stat lines when starting this season, would have more room to hunt for shots in the Lone Star State — thus increasing his value from what it is to the Cs.

This would be a win-win deal, but it’d be shocking to see Dallas settle for not getting at least a second-round pick.