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The Boston Celtics have appeared desperate to land a big name free agent ever since the NBA Draft.
They shopped the third overall pick all over the league and came up empty before having to settle on drafting Jaylen Brown. They made a pretty strong run at Kevin Durant, appearing like real contenders after signing Al Horford, but came up empty in that pursuit as well.
The Celtics have been linked in recent weeks to rumors involving Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin. But maybe, they need to be a little more realistic with the next player they're looking to acquire.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports:
“From the moment Philly drafted Ben [Simmons], everyone around the league knew that they would have to trade a big, either [Jahlil] Okafor or Nerlens [Noel],” an NBA scout told CSNNE.com. “Okafor is the better scorer; it’s not even close really. But Nerlens has that ability to run the floor and can protect the rim. Those two qualities . . . you can’t have enough guys in the frontcourt who call those two skills, strengths. That’s why Okafor is the more expendable player.”
Blakely says that the Boston and Philly were close to getting a deal done on draft night, and that the two teams have remained in trade talks since.
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The 76ers definitely have a crowded frontcourt, especially if Joel Embiid can ever get on the floor. All but Simmons are pretty much tradeable for them at this point.
Okafor doesn't seem to make as much sense for Boston now after the Horford signing. The two do a lot of the same things as low-post scorers, just Horford is better and can extend the floor a bit. But Horford is aging and the Celtics still have a lot of assets so flipping a few of them for Okafor might make sense for them in the long run.
More from Blakely:
“[Okafor] would help Boston, obviously,” said a league official. “But it’s clear that Boston isn’t looking to just add a player who can make them better. They’re looking for a guy who can come in and make an immediate impact in a really, really big way. Okafor’s good, but I don’t think he’s that kind of guy for that team.”
The Celtics have their sights set high. If they were so close with KD, maybe they really can get Westbrook or Griffin. Settling for Okafor probably wouldn't excite Boston fans too much, but it wouldn't be a bad get either.
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