NBA Rumors: Celtics Interested In Andrew Bogut Trade Before Deadline

The Boston Celtics, like so many other contenders, need to add rim protection and rebounding before the NBA playoffs.

The trade market is the place to find players with those skills, but unlike most contending teams, the Celtics actually have trade assets that opposing general managers covet.

But should they part with quality pieces for a veteran like Andrew Bogut?

Boston “has emerged as a team interested” in trading for the Dallas Mavericks center, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein wrote Sunday. Stein noted the Portland Trail Blazers also could be a good fit for Bogut.

“The Mavericks have yet to make Bogut available for potential deals, per ESPN’s own Tim MacMahon, but the Blazers are a natural suitor given their clear need for a defensive anchor at the rim as the league’s 30th-ranked defense as of Friday morning,” Stein writes.

Bogut is a useful player, and there’s no question the Golden State Warriors missed him when he was unavailable due to injury for the last two games of the 2016 NBA Finals, which the Dubs lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He’s not going to provide much offense, as his 3.9 points per game average this season indicates, but he does still clean up on the glass. The 32-year-old is pulling down 10.4 rebounds per game, and that certainly would help a Celtics squad that ranks 24th in the NBA in rebounding.

Boston shouldn’t give up any Brooklyn Nets picks to acquire Bogut, obviously, but if a deal can be worked out that doesn’t hurt the Celtics’ long-term plans, then they should consider him as a legitimate option before the trade deadline.