NBA Rumors: Ex-Celtics Fan Favorite ‘Realistic’ Trade Target For Lakers

Former Boston Celtics center Robert Williams is just getting settled back in with the Portland Trail Blazers after a year-long injury.

But the oft-injured big man could be on the move again in the near future, according to one NBA insider.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin proposed on Wednesday’s “Hoop Collective” that the Trail Blazers could move on from Williams. It’s not surprising for Williams to be mentioned in trade rumors since the lowly Trail Blazers are deep at center with DeAndre Ayton and No. 7 overall pick Donovan Clingan blocking Williams from earning big minutes.

And McMenamin believes Williams would draw interest if he goes on the trade block, especially from a Celtics archrival.

“You look at (Jonas) Valanciunas that is a name legitimately still on the Lakers radar and we’ll see how Washington’s season goes,” McMenamin said, as transcribed by MassLive’s Brian Robb. “Portland is having a really terrible start to the year but Timelord is back in the mix. Could Robert Williams be someone the Lakers acquire? Another realistic name.”

Williams does make a ton of sense for the Lakers, who are off to a solid 6-4 start under first-year head coach JJ Redick. They need Anthony Davis insurance in case the nine-time All-Star breaks down after playing a career-high 76 games last season. Davis is day-to-day with a foot injury, but has missed only one game this season.

The Lakers don’t have much behind Davis if he does go down. Jaxon Hayes is expected to miss one to two weeks due to a left ankle sprain and Christian Wood, who has yet to play this season, will miss another month due to a setback he sustained while recovering from offseason surgery, per McMenamin.

Williams, who played only six games a season ago after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right knee, could aid the Lakers now that he is healthy. The 2018 Celtics first-round pick is averaging 12 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over three games this season while logging 18 minutes per game. He knocked down the first 3-pointer of his career in his season debut and turned in a standout performance Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves by tallying 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

That version of Williams certainly would be beneficial to LeBron James and the Lakers along with several other teams across the league who likely will pursue the former Celtics fan favorite.