The Boston Celtics are in the market for a center upgrade, and they may just have their desired target already in mind. According to NBA Insider Marc Stein, the Celtics have been showing interest in the Dallas Mavericks' Daniel Gafford.
Stein writes: "I have heard a rival executive or two posit that the teams (Atlanta and Dallas) do have the option of pivoting to a potential Daniel Gafford swap that takes Risacher out of the haggling completely if they wish. Atlanta is said to have some interest in the Dallas big man alongside Indiana and Boston (which had widely explored the trade market for Anfernee Simons)."
If this report from Stein is to be believed, it confirms that Boston has been looking for trade options for Simons, as well as their interest in potentially bringing in Gafford. The big man would bring some solid skills to the Celtics, but it's unclear if he'd be exactly the solution this group needs.
Gafford is a force on the interior and can do a lot of the things successful mobile centers do in this league today. With that being said, he doesn't have a single made three-pointer in his career. He wouldn't be very useful in Joe Mazzulla's five-out lineups he loves to employ.
The Celtics have interest in Daniel Gafford
The interest makes more sense when you look at how the Celtics have functioned without Jayson Tatum all year. Jaylen Brown has taken complete control of the offense. He’s been the guy creating late and carrying scoring stretches when Boston needs direction.
That's important to consider when evaluating a center like Gafford. Brown’s emergence has kept Boston competitive, but it’s also highlighted how much the offense depends on space and movement around him. When Brown gets downhill, the court needs to stay open. A center who rarely steps outside the paint is going to complicate those actions.
Still, the appeal isn’t hard to see. Boston has played a lot of physically taxing basketball this season, and interior resistance has come and gone depending on health and matchups. Gafford would help stabilize that. He can protect the rim and give Neemias Queta some relief as well.
If the priority this season is simply to avoid burnout until Tatum potentially returns, adding a traditional big becomes more understandable. But if the focus is preserving the style that’s worked without him, the fit gets harder to sell.
Gafford could help in specific ways, but Boston has to be careful not to solve one problem by creating another. This team has found success by sticking to their style of play. Any move they make should reinforce their already-established process rather than complicate it.