Getty Al Horford of the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics are having to use a makeshift big-man rotation as Robert Williams continues his recovery from surgery.
Celtics fans have been discussing a potential trade in the hopes that Boston can land an upgrade at the backup center spot, although such a deal has yet to materialize. However, according to MassLive’s Brian Robb, any hopes of making a deal with the Orlando Magic for Wendell Carter Jr. is highly unlikely because Boston doesn’t have significant interest in acquiring the 2018 lottery pick.
“I don’t think it exists at this point. He makes too much money for the Celtics to disrupt their current rotation for him and he doesn’t push the needle enough to make that worth doing for this team. Would be nice insurance behind Rob Williams but Celtics would have to give up too much to get him,” Robb wrote.
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Carter, who was drafted seventh overall by the Chicago Bulls, has been in excellent form to begin the new season, averaging 16.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 51% from the field and 37% shooting from deep. It’s that 3-point shooting that has Celtics fans dreaming of adding the Georgia native because it fits in with Joe Mazzulla’s offensive system.
Celtics ‘Interested’ in Jakob Poeltl
Carter isn’t the only big man to find his name floated in conjunction with the Celtics. On November 16, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that Boston has recently shown interest in Jakob Poeltl of the San Antonio Spurs.
“The question is: Does this team need to go out and try to get another big man who can defend? The name that has come up that people have speculated has been Jakob Poeltl from the Spurs. [The Celtics] did a deal with the Spurs last year, obviously, for Derrick White,” Windhorst said on his “The Hoop Collective” podcast. “The Celtics are in the [luxury] tax for the first time in a while. They’re willing to spend. They can trade a first-round pick. … Poeltl makes $9.3 [million]. That’s not a huge salary to try to get up there and match. If they’re willing to include a pick, the Celtics can do it.”
Poeltl is a different style of center from Carter because his limited shooting (Carter takes almost two more shots per game than Poeltl in roughly the same number of minutes), but his defense could make him the ideal backup to Williams, especially when factoring in his experience as a starter and as a rotational big. Poeltl has started in 83 of his past 84 appearances with the Spurs.
Celtics Expected to ‘Control the Market’ for Al Horford
Veteran big man Al Horford will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and the Celtics will need to negotiate new terms if they wish to retain him for the final few years of his career.
According to a Western Conference executive who spoke under the condition of anonymity with Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney, the Celtics will likely control the market for Horford given his age (36) and the needs of projected cap space teams.
From yesterday — only at @HeavyOnSports:
@Al_Horford reveals the plan for his basketball future…
He also has some very interesting things to say about this year’s @Celtics.
“Most of the teams with money next year are young. … They’re not going to be lining up to give Horford a big contract. The Celtics will control the market on that. They’ll be fair to him, but they are a tax team and they’ll need to watch every dime,” the executive told Deveney.
Horford has already begun to re-design his offensive game as he ages and is shooting 44.4% from deep on 4.5 attempts per game — something that could ensure he remains a cog in the Celtics rotation for the foreseeable future.