To be fair I am probably overreacting by writing this article. The Celtics are 3 and 4 but are without Jae Crowder and Al Horford. Those two leave two huge holes on both sides of the court. The problem however is in the rebounding game. Even with Crowder and Horford back they are still very poor when it comes to offensive rebounding. Tyler Zeller has been fine on the glass but Amir Johnson has been underwhelming. So I have three big men in mind for the Celtics to targets. Initially I had five targets. Derrick Favors of the Jazz and Anthony Davis of the Pelicans. The Jazz are winning and Trey Lyles is not ready to take over for Favors. As for Anthony Davis, expect an article about him soon.
The first target I have in mind is Kenneth Faried. I have mentioned the idea of acquiring Faried before and now looks like the perfect time. The Nuggets have a very crowded front court and Faried has been pushed to the bench. His rebounds have not suffered however. He's averaging 9.0 rebounds, 3.6 offensive rebounds in only 23.9 minutes. His offensive rebound percentage is well above average with 16.9 percent. His defense is lacking but with Al Horford and Jae Crowder should make up for his shortcomings. The Nuggets have several power forwards but no pure backup center. So I have the Celtics sending Amir Johnson and their two 2017 2nd round picks for Faried. That should be enough to land him. If not send their 2018 1st round pick instead. I'm willing to do that because the Celtics will still have Brooklyn's pick.
The next guy on my list is Nikola Vucevic. The Magic have been disappointing so far and with Bismack Biyombo on the team Vucevic may be available for the right price. Vucevic is a professional rebounder on both the offensive and defensive end. He's averaging 11.1 rebounds, 3.5 offensive rebounds in 28.3 minutes. His offensive rebound percentage is not as good as Faried but is still above average at 12.7 percent. He's also a plus passer and has a great mid range game. Like with Faried he isn't the best defender but the others can make up for it. He will be more costly than Faried but not out of the Celtics price range. Give them Amir Johnson, Demetrius Jackson and the Celtics 2018 1st Round pick for Vucevic and Damjan Rudez. Rudez gives them an extra wing/stretch forward.
The final target is Zach Randolph. The Grizzlies have also disappointed and push Randolph to the bench. Randolph is also in the last year of his contract with the Grizzlies. He has always been a great rebounder and has improved on defense with the Grizzlies. He also know how to play in the playoffs. He's averaging 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 offensive rebounds in 21.5 minutes. His offensive rebounds percentage isn't nearly as good as the other two but is still far better than anything the Celtics have. The flexibility of his contract makes it worth it. The Celtics will probably have to give up Tyler Zeller and two 2017 2nd round picks. James Young and Troy Daniels could be in the mix as well.
The Celtics are desperate for rebounds and these guys could save them.
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