NBA Rumors: Celtics Could Acquire Nikola Vucevic For Carsen Edwards, Romeo Langford, Daniel Theis & Picks
Nikola Vucevic and the Orlando Magic had a strong start, winning the first four games of the 2020-21 NBA season against the Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, and Oklahoma City Thunder. However, after suffering back-to-back losses, rumors have once again started to swirl around Vucevic and his future in Orlando. If the Magic don’t show a clear path to title contention, some people think that they could finally make Vucevic available on the trading block before the 2021 trade deadline.
One of the teams that could express strong interest in acquiring him from the Magic is the Boston Celtics. In a recent article, Greg Patuto of NBA Analysis Network came up with a trade idea that would bring Vucevic to Beantown before the 2021 trade deadline. In the proposed scenario, the Celtics would send a package that includes Romeo Langford, Carsen Edwards, Daniel Theis, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick to the Magic in exchange for Vucevic.
If the suggested deal pushed through, Patuto believes that it would benefit both the Celtics and the Magic.
“Nikola Vucevic is one of the most underrated big men in the NBA. He would help the Boston Celtics tremendously over the course of the season and come playoff time. He has a skill-set that would provide needed balance to the team’s half-court offense. If Nikola Vucevic is on the market, the Orlando Magic could get some key players back in exchange. Romeo Langford and Carsen Edwards are intriguing prospects that would benefit Orlando. They would also replace their big man with Daniel Theis down low.”
Though it would cost them two talented prospects in Langford and Edwards, a reliable backup in Theis, and two future draft assets, the potential deal would make a lot of sense for the Celtics. The Celtics may have addressed their rebounding woes with the recent acquisition of Tristan Thompson, but adding Vucevic to their roster would further solidify their frontcourt. He not only possesses the ideal size to man the center position, but he’s also capable of efficiently knocking down shots from beyond the arc.
This would make it easier for franchise cornerstones Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to penetrate the basket or kick the ball out when they are trapped by the opposing team’s defense. Having Vucevic as their starting center would give the Celtics a better matchup against powerhouse teams with dominant big men like Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers), and Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets).
Vucevic may remain committed to the Magic, but he would definitely be intrigued by the idea of playing for a team with real championship aspirations like the Celtics. Compared to the Magic, joining forces with Tatum, Brown, Kemba Walker, and Marcus Smart in Boston would give him a better chance of winning his first championship ring in the 2020-21 NBA season.
