The Boston Celtics have been linked to numerous trade rumors involving some of the NBA’s marquee big men, as many analysts believe that they’re one star away from being legitimate title contenders once again.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently linked Jaren Jackson Jr. to a potential move to the Boston Celtics amid the Ja Morant drama. However, according to NBC Sports’ Chris Forsberg, the 18-time NBA champions are better off without the Memphis Grizzlies forward.
“Jackson Jr.’s defensive pedigree is intriguing, as is his ability to stretch the floor on the offensive end. He’s still only 26 years old. The downsides: His rebounding is underwhelming (5.6 per game this season and only one season with 6-plus rebounds per game), and he can be a bit of a foul magnet,” Forsberg wrote in his column.
“Ultimately, it’s the price tag that poses the biggest challenge, as well as the draft capital that you’d have to expend to land a player like Jackson Jr.,” he continued. “Taking on that sort of salary makes it vital to have a steady stream of low-cost draftees coming into the program, and Boston would have to mortgage much of that future as well as basically all of its flexibility.”
Boston Celtics insider pitches Ivica Zubac as the preferred trade target
Moreover, Chris Forsberg proposed that the Boston Celtics should go after Ivica Zubac instead. The 29-year-old is a double-double machine for the Los Angeles Clippers and is in the first year of a three-year, $58.7 million deal.
“I think he’s the one guy I would be willing to splurge on a little bit,” Forsberg said of Zubac. “His contract is so desirable. He checks a lot of boxes. (He’s) always in the top 20 in defensive rebounds. I think he led the NBA in defensive rebounds last year. He shores up your biggest need immediately. The defensive potential is obvious.”
“I don’t think the Celtics are overly worried about getting below the tax this year, but it does give you a little bit more flexibility long-term and potentially think about resetting the repeater penalties, which would help make a big splurge further down the road,” he added.
