We have yet to see if the Boston Celtics' current frontcourt can hold steady in a lengthy playoff run. Whether they do or don't, they should pounce on the chance to get an upgrade. Round three with Al Horford isn't the worst idea, but there's always the chance they could do better. If there's a player who could do the same things Horford does, it would be Onyeka Okongwu.
Bleacher Report's Dan Favale floated Okongwu as a Celtics target. While the comparison to Horford isn't perfect, he made it clear why he would fit with Boston. He even included how they could make it work.
"Onyeka Okongwu both splits the difference and is the most ambitious option. His three-ball is reliable enough (including from above the break!) for him to play in tandem with Queta.Â
"Salary-matching will get iffy depending on the Atlanta Hawks' 2026-27 goals. Otherwise, the Celtics have the wiggle room beneath the tax to take on Okongwu's money without needing to give up Derrick White or Payton Pritchard. They could even get away with keeping Sam Hauser and taking Okongwu into the Anfernee Simons trade exception," Favale wrote.
A two-way big man who can block some shots and hit some threes? He may not be a replica of prime Horford (let's not mention the irony of Okongwu going from the Hawks to the Celtics like Horford did), but he doesn't have to be. He covers a lot of the same ground Horford did in his final(?) days in Boston.
Given Okongwy's team-friendly deal and his skillset being similar to Horford's, it's hard to see why Boston wouldn't want him. There is a problem though.
Would the Hawks really trade Okongwu to Boston though?
If the Hawks are crunching the cap crunching, are they really going to ship their best big out to clear up that problem? And if they were, would they really send Okongwu to not only a fellow East playoff team, but to perhaps the one team that could use him more than anyone else?
They also might not be too happy about how things turned out with Kristaps Porzingis. They added him, believing he'd vault them up a level, but in the end, it became painfully obvious how big a favor they did for Boston and how little a favor they did for themselves when they acquired him.
And now they would hypothetically be about to do Boston another favor after they just had one of the most miraculous seasons in franchise history? If they trade Okongwu, it's going to be for value, not in a salary dump. Maybe they would be serious about sending him to Boston, but only if they get the closest they can to a king's ransom.
Okongwu to Boston would be basketball poetry in motion, but for that same reason, Atlanta would have all the reason to keep that basketball poetry with them.
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