Boston Celtics rumors: 3 NBA Trade Deadline deals of great impact

Boston Celtics impact trades: Nikola Vucevic

Sticking with Orlando, Magic big man Nikola Vucevic is essentially the perfect center for Brad Stevens and the way the Boston Celtics want to play basketball.

A big man who rebounds and can stretch the floor offensively would give the Celtics a starting lineup that would compete with anyone.

In a career year, Vucevic is averaging 24.6 rebounds and 11.8 rebounds per game and would give the C’s that double-double big man they have been seeking for a few seasons now.  But he would come at a hefty price, so this impact trade is less likely unless Danny Ainge is willing to part ways with Robert Williams as the center piece of a deal.

Unless the Magic asks for someone like Marcus Smart, it would have to be Williams along with picks and perhaps a couple other young players that could include any combination of Grant Williams, Carson Edwards, Aaron Nesmith or Romeo Langford.  Otherwise, I don’t see Orlando giving up a talent like Vucevic for anything less.

At 30, Vucevic has to be the type of impact player Ainge feels would make this team better, and how could he not playing alongside Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.

Ideally, it would be nice to have lineups that include Vucevic and Daniel Theis since it is more than likely Robert Williams would be included in the deal.

As far as competing with teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, Nikola Vucevic would present more of a mismatch on the offensive end because of his ability to play inside and stretch the floor.  He would make Joel Embiid work on the offensive end and at least having the length to disrupt him on the defensive end of the court.

The downside of this potential blockbuster is the amount of bench players the Celtics would have to give up.  With depth being their biggest weakness, that may prevent Ainge from pulling the trigger.