NBA Trade Rumors: Celtics Could Swap Terry Rozier For Nikola Vucevic, ‘Bleacher Report’ Suggests
New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis is frequently linked to the Boston Celtics in various trade rumors in the past months. The Celtics currently have a plethora of trade assets to engage in a blockbuster trade with the Pelicans. Unfortunately, because of the Rose Rule, the Celtics cannot acquire Davis before the February NBA trade deadline without giving up All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving.
Instead of Anthony Davis, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report suggested that the Celtics could target Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic. As of now, the Celtics are yet to live up to expectations from the team that is supposed to be the best in the LeBron James-less Eastern Conference. In order to achieve their main goal, the Celtics should start to find ways to address some of the issues on their roster.
Trading for Nikola Vucevic will improve the Celtics’ offense and rebounding that rank 18th and 17th in the league, respectively, per NBA.com. The 28-year-old center is currently playing the best season in his NBA career, averaging 21.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, one block, and one steal on 55.1 percent shooting from the field and 40.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
So far, the Magic haven’t shown a strong indication that they plan to move Nikola Vucevic before the February NBA trade deadline. However, with his contract that is set to expire after the 2018-19 NBA season and the emergence of Mo Bamba, trading him now will be the Magic’s best option than losing him in the 2019 NBA free agency without getting anything in return.
“So, why would Orlando let him go? Because he’s headed for unrestricted free agency next summer and isn’t a likely keeper given the frontcourt minutes needed to develop recent top-10 selections Mohamed Bamba and Jonathan Isaac. Not to mention, if Vucevic could fetch fellow free-agent-to-be Terry Rozier, the Magic might finally have their floor general of the future. Vooch has been a Boston target before.”
.@NikolaVucevic is making his mark in the NBAhttps://t.co/uhvDQc6k3e
— BDA Sports (@BDA_Sports) November 29, 2018
To acquire Nikola Vucevic from the Magic, the Celtics could offer a trade package centered on backup point guard Terry Rozier. The deal will not only be beneficial for the Celtics but also for the Magic as it will help them address one of the major problems on their roster. Rozier will give the Magic a starting caliber point guard who fits the timeline of their young core. Though he is set to become a free agent after the season, the Magic only need to match offers from other NBA teams just to bring him back on their roster.
