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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Justin Quinn

Report: Celtics seen as unlikely to deal for San Antonio Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl

The Boston Celtics are not seen as likely to trade for San Antonio Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl according to league sources outside the Celtics organization according to new reporting from The Athletic’s Jay King. Per King, said sources note that “if the Spurs do deal him, the impending free agent would make more sense somewhere he is a better long-term fit,” particularly considering that the team recently extended Al Horford and have Robert Williams III locked up for the near-term future.

Still, as have many, King makes the case for the Celtics pursuing big man depth of a slightly lower caliber given what we’ve been hearing, what we have seen from the team on the court — and what we know about the big men already on the roster regarding health and age.

King offers up some alternative targets in PJ Washington, Mason Plumlee, or Jae’Sean Tate, acknowledging they aren’t the sort of traditional centers Boston might be expected to look for.

The first two are intriguing but would require substantial salary ballast in Plumlee’s case and draft assets as well in Washington’s, with Tate being short enough at just 6-foot-4 that playing him as a functional 4 with the Celtics may be a bit of a gamble.

Instead, we propose using such a roster spot on a player with size able to provide a different look than the bigs and forwards on the team’s roster now like Naz Reid or Nick Richards.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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