The Boston Celtics have been linked to several players over the past few months, leading up to this week’s NBA Trade Deadline. Ivica Zubac, Jarren Jackson Jr., Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Yves Missi are names that Boston has reportedly shown interest in.
On Monday, another reported name joined the list -- Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall.
“Other teams that have inquired about Marshall include the [New York] Knicks, Detroit Pistons, and Boston Celtics,” ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel shared in his latest intel newsletter.
Marshall, who is in his second season with the Mavericks, is averaging 14.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on 53.8% from the field. All three are career-highs. Of course, Dallas is well aware of how well the six-foot-six-inch forward is playing this season. According to Siegel, they’re not trading him away for cheap.
“Dallas has held a high asking price of a first-round pick for the 28-year-old wing. The Mavs don't appear eager to trade Marshall over the likes of [Daniel] Gafford, [Klay] Thompson, and others.”
The price for Naji Marshall is probably too steep for the Celtics
At this point, the way the Celtics have been playing, does it really make sense for them to pay a “high asking price?” Maybe if they were bringing in an upper-tier starting center. Anything beyond that simply isn’t a need.
Marshall is a fine player. He’s obviously having one of the best seasons of his career offensively, and can defend at a high level, too. The issue is that his three-point shot needs some work. He’s shot right around his career average, knocking down just 30.4% of his triples this season.
Defense is absolutely a key to earning a spot in Boston’s rotation, but so is shooting. If the Cs were to dig into their future first-round picks to get a deal done, there’s no guarantee that Marshall would be a fit.
There’s a fair chance he is, but there’s also a reason why you and I are finding out about the Celtics’ reported interest in him through a news dump, instead of a breaking news post about a trade.
Whatever Dallas is asking for likely exceeds the price Brad Stevens and the Cs’ front office is willing to pay. That, or they haven’t found a way to make the money work yet. With the Mavs currently sitting $10.7 million above the first-apron, they’re unable to take back more salary than they sent out in any potential trade. With Boston dealing with the same circumstances, it gets difficult to solve the math problem.
Any hypothetical deal would likely need to involve a third team to eat some salary.
Even so, if there’s one position that the Celtics have a surplus of, it’s the wing spot. Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and Josh Minott have all given them good rotational minutes at different times throughout the season. The issue is that there are already too many mouths to feed. On any given night, one of those men takes in all the action from the bench. Marshall would just further complicate that (unless one of the above players is sent out in the deal).
If the Celtics make a trade at all, it should be to solidify the center spot. They’re probably one solid body away from being able to feel confident in their rotation heading into a playoff series.