According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, it seems inevitable that veteran big man Nikola Vucevic has already played his final game with the Boston Celtics and that he will switch teams this offseason.
"Former All-Star center Nikola Vučević is increasingly regarded as a certainty to switch teams this summer after a fractured right ring finger in March helped derail his brief stint as a Boston Celtic in the spring," Stein wrote.
And to be completely direct: this is 100% the right call.
Nikola Vucevic was a massive disappointment for the Celtics
It was a bit of a controversial move trading Anfernee Simons for Vucevic last season (Simons was becoming a fan favorite, was playing some of the best basketball of the season before the deal, and there were real concerns about Vucevic's defense and fit in Boston), but there were reasons to do it.
The Celtics needed a reliable stretch big in their system, which the Swiss native is (was?) (he's a career 35% shooter from deep), and he also provided value as a veteran presence and rebounder. Plus, once Jayson Tatum returned, Payton Pritchard was going to go back to his role as a sixth man, making the pairing of him and Simons a bit redundant.
There was also this idea that acquiring Vucevic could maybe halfway fill the void left by the Kristaps Porzingis trade as someone who can space the floor, rebound, and open up some driving lanes for the Jays. But this didn't happen... at all.
In 16 games for the Celtics, Vucevic averaged 9.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 43.9% from the field and 34% from three. These numbers (mixed with his defense that was somehow even worse than advertised) made him a less-than-ideal center on their own, but they were even worse in the playoffs (6.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 37.8/29.2/50% shooting splits in six games -- was a DNP-CD in Game 7 in favor of Luka Garza).
It's time for the Celtics to move on from Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic's struggles weren't entirely his fault, as he also missed a month of action due to a finger injury and never had a real chance to find his rhythm in Boston, given that Tatum returned in the same game he got injured. But he also didn't give the team or fans many reasons to believe in him moving forward.
The 35-year-old's poor defense and slow pace are only going to get worse, and for someone who is supposed to be a stretch big, he really didn't do a good job of knocking down the threes he took in Boston.
Would Vucevic be better if he had a full season with the Celtics? Probably, but at the same time, the team already has a cheaper, younger, and potentially even better option in Garza. And it's not like bringing Vucevic back would solve their frontcourt problems either.
The trade was a worthy shot for Brad Stevens to take, but for the first time in a very, very long time, he took a swing and a miss. And it's best for everybody to just move on from this debacle entirely.
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