The Boston Celtics were one of the NBA’s most compelling stories all season, finishing No. 2 in the East and racking up an impressive 56 wins, fourth in the NBA. But as often happens in the league, being a compelling regular-season story does not necessarily translate to the playoffs, and with Boston eliminated in the first round–after having built a 3-1 series lead over the Sixers–there were considerable questions left to ponder for the franchise.
While the notion of whether to trade or keep Jaylen Brown will be the headline-grabber, and the related notion of whether to bring in Giannis Antetokounmpo, there are some more foundational issues that the team is going to need to weigh going forward. And in examining the Celtics’ situation as it stands, former Boston center Kendrick Perkins pointed to one area of particular weakness: the center spot.
This year, Boston started Neemias Queta at center, and he had a breakout season, with career highs of 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds. Luka Garza was the backup and, in an admission that the team was lacking in the middle, the Celtics made a mostly ineffective trade for ill-fitting veteran Nikola Vucevic at the deadline.
Celtics Big Men Not Good Enough
None of it really worked for the Celtics. Queta showed he is good enough to have a role in the NBA, but not quite good enough to be a starter on a contender. Garza showed he can be a stretch-5 bench weapon in small stretches, but not a reliable backup center. Vucevic showed he should probably play elsewhere next summer.
As Perkins sees it, the Celtics need to point their resources at filling the hole in the middle.
“The first move, where they got exposed was the big [man] area,” he said. “I like Queta but I don’t think he’s a starter. They need to go find that All-Star-caliber big. If I’m the Celtics, do I break up JB and JT? No. But if a Giannis [Antetokounmpo] becomes available, I might have to think about it. Or if Anthony Davis is feeling some type of way as a Washington Wizard and you could package something up and bring him to Boston.”
Trade for Anthony Davis Not Likely
Now, one thing that Perkins–as a former player and an ESPN analyst–should know is that it’s not that easy for the Celtics to simply, “package something up” to make a trade for a player like Davis. Not that Davis has overwhelming value–he has played 71 games in the last two seasons combined–but he does make $58.5 million next season, which means (barring the inclusion of a generous third team) it would almost certainly require the Celtics to trade Brown to get him.
Still, the point Perkins makes is salient. The Celtics can’t run back a subpar group in the middle and expect to keep in contention. They’ve got enough on the wings and in the backcourt to make a credible push, but they will need to find a big guy who can allow Queta to return to coming off the bench.
That could come through the draft, though Boston picks at No. 27 and will be gambling on potential. That could come through a shrewd developmental signing in the coming months. Or, it could be a more modest trade, perhaps using the team’s available traded player exception–someone like Daniel Gafford or PJ Washington from the rebuilding Mavericks, for example.
It probably won’t be Anthony Davis. But the Celtics, clearly, need to do something.
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