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On the heels of a disappointing 108-103 defeat at the hands of a wily undermanned Minnesota Timberwolves squad, the Boston Celtics have now dropped three of their last four games and currently sit two games below .500 as we near the New Year. Yes, a large chunk of their roster remains in the COVID-19 Health and Safety protocols. Still, even at full strength, this Celtics lineup has more than its fair share of holes around stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
One area, in particular, that they are severely lacking in is their scoring off the bench. Through 34 games, the team boasts the league’s fourth-lowest scoring second-unit in all of basketball, averaging just 28.1 points per contest. Two notable reserves who have failed to add much of a punch are 2020 first-rounder Aaron Nesmith and big man Juancho Hernangomez. Despite being lauded as the “best shooter” in his draft class, Nesmith has connected on only 23.8% of his 3-point attempts this season and is averaging a mere 3.2 points per game. Hernangomez, who was acquired this past offseason in exchange for Kriss Dunn and Carsen Edwards, has barely seen the floor, averaging a career-low 5.5 minutes per game.
Instead of wallowing through the rest of the season with lackluster production from the bunch, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley proposes the team package both Nesmith and Hernangomez in a deal to acquire a commonly floated trade target — Orlando Magic wing, Terrence Ross.
B/R Proposal Ships Terrence Ross to the Celtics
Owners of the NBA’s second-to-worst record, Orlando is essentially dead in the water when it comes to this year’s campaign. It’s fairly evident their focus shouldn’t be on the now. Instead, Buckley notes that “the Magic’s checklist for the 2021-22 campaign should’ve been two items deep: develop young talent and trade Terrence Ross for rebuilding assets.”
In B/R’s latest proposal, they take care of the latter. Here’s how the hypothetical deal shapes up and Buckley’s case for the trade:
- Orlando Magic receive:
- Aaron Nesmith
- Juancho Hernangomez
- 2022 second-round pick
- Boston Celtics receive:
- Terrence Ross
Ross, the veteran left behind during last season’s fire sale, looks like a fish out of water as the 30-year-old stranded on a rebuilder. He hasn’t exactly greased his path out of town with his least productive effort in years, but trade suitors should give him the benefit of the doubt for his track record as an ignitable shooter, athletic finisher and microwave scorer.
Boston’s offense needs that kind of jolt, especially off the bench. Celtics reserves rank [28th] in scoring and 23rd in field-goal shooting, a big reason why their average plus/minus is in the red.
Should the Shamrocks build some momentum between now and the deadline, they might sense their ceiling is high enough to move future assets for instant-impact contributors. Aaron Nesmith holds significant potential as a shooter, but he isn’t helping the Celtics right now. Moving him, Juancho Hernangomez and a second-rounder for Ross would effectively take nothing out of the rotation while adding a major weapon to it.
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Ross’ Trade Price Dipping?
Ross and the Celtics were readily linked at last year’s trade deadline. Ultimately, Ross stayed put in Central Florida, going on to average a career-best 15.6 points per game. However, according to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, it appears as if prying Ross from the Magic could be far more attainable this time around.
“Last season, executives I spoke to said the Magic were hoping to get multiple first-round picks for Ross. Now? That number appears to have whittled down to one first-round pick,” Scotto said on December 15. “Some executives have told me they’d consider maybe trading two second-round picks to try and get Ross. I’m not sure that’s going to move the needle for Orlando.”
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