NBA Rumors: Suns Could Use Kelly Oubre Jr. As Trade Chip To Acquire Terry Rozier, Per ‘Bleacher Report’
Since the 2018 NBA offseason, rumors and speculations continue to swirl that Terry Rozier and the Boston Celtics will part ways before the February NBA trade deadline. Having Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart on their roster, the Celtics aren’t expected to use a huge chunk of their salary cap space to bring another backup point guard back in the 2019 NBA free agency.
Trading Terry Rozier now will be the Celtics’ best option than losing him in the summer of 2019 without getting anything in return. One of the NBA teams who has been keeping an eye on Rozier is the Phoenix Suns. After losing Brandon Knight in a deal with the Houston Rockets, the Suns have been active on the trade market, searching for a starting caliber point guard.
To acquire him from the Celtics, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report suggested that the Suns could offer a trade package including Kelly Oubre Jr. and a 2021 second-round pick. The proposed trade deal works on ESPN‘s NBA Trade Machine.
The deal will not only be potentially beneficial for the Suns but also for the Celtics. Aside from being additional defensive insurance, Favale believes that the acquisition of Kelly Oubre Jr. will make it easier for the Celtics to include Jaylen Brown in the blockbuster trade if the New Orleans Pelicans officially put Anthony Davis on the trading block. Oubre Jr. will also become a restricted free agent next July but unlike Terry Rozier, he’s not expected to receive huge offers on the open market.
“Kelly Oubre Jr. is a nice starting point if the Celtics place stock in his matching rights as he enters restricted free agency. He doesn’t replace Rozier’s half-court shot creation, but Boston has more than enough ball-handlers. His 6’7? frame comes with a wingspan north of 7’2?, so he can toggle between defending most guards and wings. Oubre’s outside touch is a dud. He’s draining under 32 percent of his three-point attempts and fairing even worse off the catch (29.7 percent). His numbers should climb amid better shot quality in Boston.”
The #Magic have expressed their interest in signing #Celtics guard Terry Rozier and #Nets star D'Angelo Russell in the 2019 free agency.https://t.co/zuJQrThDiH
— Magic Nation (@MagicNationCP) December 20, 2018
Meanwhile, Terry Rozier will give the Suns a talented point guard who fits the timeline of the face of the franchise, Devin Booker. Rozier may be struggling in the 2018-19 NBA season, but when he’s given enough playing time, he can be a reliable contributor on both ends of the floor. In 19 postseason games as the Celtics starting point guard, Rozier averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.3 steals on 40.6 percent shooting from the field and 34.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
