Boston Celtics must sway former NBA Champion out of Europe

The Boston Celtics are undoubtedly the creme de la creme in the NBA at the one-day Thanksgiving break. Their offseason acquisitions have given them an elite starting five. Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have fit perfectly, meshing well with the incumbent stars Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Derrick White.

While the starting five have been great thus far in 2023-24, the Celtics will still need to address several areas that need improvement. The team is currently lacking in size and three-point shooting and the right player that can come in and solve both problems for the team is veteran Serge Ibaka. 

In 2020, ex-Harwood Houdini editor Mark Nilon made quite the case for Ibaka to join the Jays.

“A guy like Serge Ibaka, on the other hand, fits in perfectly with such a system. A career 36 percent shooter from beyond the arc, the veteran big has proven more than capable of successfully stroking it from deep and, in his most recent campaign, bumped his conversion-percentage up to a career-high 39 percent shooting from 3-point range.”

Serge Ibaka would open more doors for Boston Celtics

While Ibaka only shot 33% from three last season, a lot of people forget that was in a very limited timeframe. In his final full year in the league (2021-2022), he shot over 37% from beyond the arc; damn good enough to be in Boston's rotation.

You can only imagine with the spacing and open shots with the Celtics that he can do even better. The Boston Celtics' lack of size will also get a boost with Serge as he has always been an elite defensive big.

While he is playing in Europe, Boston should aim to bring the 34-year-old aboard at the first chance possible.

Ibaka would be a Banner 18-focused move in 2023-24.