3 centers the Boston Celtics should pursue at the trade deadline

While Al Horford and Rob Williams are both great options at the center position for the Boston Celtics, Horford is currently 36, and Rob makes fans nervous every time he hits the floor. It’s safe to say that more center depth wouldn’t hurt.

With that being said, the Celtics shouldn’t give too much up to get a third string center.

All they need is a guy who can step on the floor of a playoff game and potentially play a few solid minutes, or a decent number of minutes if Horford or Rob gets injured. The Celtics don’t need much from him, so they shouldn’t give up a premium price.

With all that being said, here are three centers that would be sensible trade options in terms of potential role, skillset, and trade price.

Boston Celtics center trade target No. 1: P.J. Washington

This first deal would require a call to Michael Jordan.

P.J. Washington would be an interesting trade target that would likely require Danilo Gallinari, Payton Pritchard, and a second rounder to get done. However, given his age and original draft capital, the tanking Hornets may want more than that for their 24-year-old versatile big man.

While Washington is undersized, listed as only six-foot-seven, he is also listed as 230 pounds, giving him the strength to play the center position. I guess you could say he’s like a taller Grant Williams.

The pull to Washington for the Celtics would be the fact he’s a solid all-around player, with the ability to shoot from three, score inside, rebound, and play solid defense. He isn’t really anything special, but he’d make for a good third center option that shouldn’t get played off the floor in the playoffs. He’s also only 24, meaning he could be kept around long term.

I think the ideal trade for the Celtics with the Hornets would be Gallinari, Pritchard, and either multiple seconds or a heavily protected first for Washington and fellow youngster Jalen McDaniels. This trade would bring in solid depth both on the wing and in the frontcourt, and if the players perform well, could be kept long term and get even better.

The downside to a trade like this is it might require even more than I proposed, which would be a lot to give up for end of bench options. Also, each player is on the last year of their deal, meaning along with Grant Williams, the Celtics would have three bench options to resign that could ask for more than they are worth based on spurts of success and age.

While a trade involving P.J. Washington could be risky for the Boston Celtics, it could also easily be well worth it both in the short term and the long term.

This next center option is an even younger option in the opposite conference.