Potential Celtics Centers
The rumors of a Gordon Hayward trade have been increasing in recent weeks, and most of the potential deals involve bringing a new big man to Beantown. Whether or not this is the biggest need for the Celtics is up for debate, but it definitely couldn’t curt. The only question is, who’s the best guy to bring in? Let’s run through some of the options I’ve been hearing in the rumor mill as of late.
Andre Drummond
The rumors that the C’s should trade for Drummond have been going on ever since the trade deadline. The Pistons were looking to deal him, and the C’s could use an upgrade at the five, so the match seemed solid. Bring one of the best rebounders in NBA history to Boston, who doesn’t really have any great rebounders. However, is the fit really that good?
Daniel Theis is the current starting center on the Celtics, and I think we can all agree he’s done a solid job. He’s not an All-Star caliber player by any means, but he’s done what he needs to do to help the team win. One of the biggest upsides to Theis’ game is his ability to stretch the floor.
In a game where shooting is as important as ever, most teams are looking to their big men to shoot threes. Look at guys like Brook Lopez in Milwaukee or Serge Ibaka in Toronto. Both of these guys spent their whole careers focusing on their play in the paint, but just recently developed a jump shot in order to get more playing time in today’s game. I’m not saying that every big man needs to be able to shoot in order to be considered good, but it definitely adds a bunch of spacing.
Drummond is historically one of the worst shooters in the league. He spent his first few years in the NBA shooting below 40% from the free-throw line, and while he did attempt a decent amount of threes during his few games in Cleveland, he rarely takes many shots outside the paint. On top of that, he’s not really that mobile either. You could look at Bam Adebayo as a center that can’t shoot, but he makes up for it with elite defense and athleticism. Drummond doesn’t do either of those things.
While Drummond does fill up the stat sheet with steals and blocks, that doesn’t necessarily make him a great defender. Stats don’t mean everything. For example, Hassan Whiteside averaged more blocks than Rudy Gobert this season, does that mean he was the better defender? James Harden averaged more steals per game than Marcus Smart, does that mean he’s a better defender? Defense is about positioning, making hustle plays, and high defensive IQ. I’m not saying Drummond’s necessarily a bad defender, he’s just not as good as his stats make him look.
Now I’ve spent all this time convincing you that Drummond is a bad player, but he’s really not. Like I mentioned earlier, he’s one of the best rebounders in the history of the league, and that is something that the Celtics could definitely use. He’s a good player, and a multiple-time All-Star, I just question whether or not he’s worth a max contract in the NBA.
The reality is that if he came to Boston, Brad Stevens would most certainly get the most out of him. Drummond has ever had the opportunity to contribute to a winning basketball team, so honestly being in Boston could help push him to be even better. I’m sure that he would play well for the C’s, I just don’t know if that’s the route I would take if I had to trade Hayward.
Myles Turner
Turner is a very different player in comparison to Drummond. Turner isn’t that great of a rebounder, which Drummond excels at, but he can do the one thing Drummond struggles with - shoot the ball.
The Indiana big man is one of the league’s best stretch-fives and has shot over 35% from that range over the first five seasons of his career. The Celtics looked to Theis to make some open shots in the playoffs, and having Turner take those same shots most likely would have yielded much better results. There’s so much praise about how well Theis spaces the floor, well Turner would do it but much more efficiently.
On top of his great shooting, Turner plays elite defense. This past season he averaged over two blocks a night, and the year prior he averaged nearly three. Like I mentioned with Drummond, however, blocks don’t necessarily mean that a player is a good defender, but in this case, Turner has the other aspects of defense to back it up. He knows where to be on the defensive end and is a great rim protector. He reminds me of a young version of Brook Lopez with the potential to be better.
Now I can’t just talk about the positives of Turner, even though I do like his game significantly more than some of the other rumored options. Turner has always struggled to be a great rebounder despite being a seven-footer in the NBA. Throughout his first five seasons, he’s averaged just under seven a game which is pretty underwhelming considering his height. Outside of that, his passing ability isn’t that great either, and even though that’s not the main thing you look for in a center, it’s worth noting.
Out of the options I’ve seen, Turner is probably my favorite because of his age, his shooting, and his defense. I just think he would fit super well with the Celtics roster. He could grow with Tatum and Brown as they age into their primes.
Rudy Gobert
This is the most recent rumor I’ve heard and it is super interesting considering how good of a player Gobert is. He’s one of the league’s best interior defenders and a consistent member of the All-Defensive First Team. He’d definitely improve the defensive ceiling of the C’s, but what else is there to know about Gobert?
As I mentioned before, Gobert is one of the best defenders in the league and doesn’t always get the respect he deserves in that regard. Yes, he makes All-Defensive teams year in and year out, but I’m talking about respect from the general public. People look at his statistics and fail to realize how impactful of a player he really is.
With that in mind, I don’t necessarily know if the fit with the Celtics would be ideal. Yes, he would be able to protect the paint at an elite level, but what the Celtics gain on that end of the floor would also hurt them on the other end. Gobert’s never been a great offensive player. Yes, he can score in the paint pretty well, but he’s never been one to create his own shot and he most definitely cannot stretch the floor.
On top of that, Gobert is going to be eligible for a contract extension pretty soon, and will also be eligible for the supermax. In a similar light to Drummond, I don’t know if he’s going to be worth that much money, especially to the Celtics. Boston already had Walker, Brown, and soon to be Tatum tied up on near-max contracts. Bringing in a guy who’s going to want as much as Hayward, if not more, would kind of defeat the purpose of trading Hayward, would it not? Gobert would definitely improve the C’s defensively, but is that really where the issue lies?
So as you can see, I have a pretty clear favorite in who I think the C’s should bring to Boston (out of all the rumors I’ve heard). I think Turner fits the best in terms of style of play, age, and contract. Who do you guys think the best fit would be? Is it one of these guys? Or someone I didn’t mention? Let me know in the comments down below!
