Nikola Vucevic had his moments in Boston, but ultimately, the Celtics’ trade deadline experiment was a failure. Vooc was supposed to be a floor-stretching big man who could score inside and out while dominating the glass. But the 35-year-old plodder was a clunky fit, a sieve on the defensive end, and just a 34% shooter from three-point range.
His $21.5 million salary is coming off the books, so the cost wasn’t an issue, but it will be fascinating to see how Vooch’s free agency pans out. On the one hand, there’s no way he’ll be expecting a salary close to his last one, but he could easily demand the taxpayer midlevel or more.
For the Celtics, they clearly need another body in their frontcourt, and the theoretical fit of Vooch makes sense, but we saw it in practice, and it’s not an experience I’m in a rush to replicate. That’s even more true if Vucevic is expecting anything more than a veteran minimum contract and a massively reduced role.
I wouldn’t advise it personally, but I’m willing to bet there’s a desperate team out there that will throw a bigger bag Vooch’s way and an offer to start or play a key bench role. The Celtics shouldn’t be ready to commit to any of that, and instead, should be looking to take advantage of any perceived value by helping orchestrate a sign-and-trade deal with Vooch. They could then look to solve their third big man dilemma with long-time missed connection, Kevin Love.
Love can still play in small doses
Love is a couple of years older than Vucevic, but he has been sparsely used over the past few seasons, and that could make him more attractive to a team like the Celtics. They won’t be asking him to play big minutes or play a major role. But he can come in for a handful of minutes and provide elite floor spacing, rebounding, and passing in small doses.
He’s a career 37% shooter from three and shot slightly better last season in Utah. He played a small role for a team that was trying to lose games and emphasizing a youth movement, but when he did play, he was pretty effective, and his per-36 minutes were actually rock solid across the board.
For what the Celtics are looking for, Love can offer just as much, if not more than Vooch, and is clearly a better shooter. The defense is obviously bad, but it’s not a lot worse than what Vucevic gave them, and he’s just as big. A bonus is that Love can play the four or the five and give the Cs a legitimate double-big look for stretches.
Love could offer Celtics a double-big look
According to Basketball Reference’s tracking data, Love played 64% of his minutes at power forward last season and 26% at center (plus a laughable 10% at small forward), and over his three previous seasons in Miami, he was at a near-even 48/52 split.
Even at his age, he’s a marksman that defenses won’t leave alone, and that can burn you with his passing. The defense may not be pretty, but with his rebounding and floor spacing, it’s totally reasonable to imagine him playing alongside Neemy or Luka. Not to mention, he would be a great veteran leader and awesome addition to the bench (a la Blake Griffin) after the team lusted after him during his prime.
So, if the Celtics aren’t making a splash move for a big and are considering bringing back Vooch as a third big for his floor-spacing skills, they should instead look at the former champion and future Hall of Famer, Love.
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