The Boston Celtics were listed as top betting favorites for both Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic and Atlanta Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic, but as Inside The Celtics’ Bobby Krivitsky pointed out, neither are unrealistic options at the trade deadline.
“Either would represent a fantastic addition, but the cost it will take makes the prospect of a Bogdanovic joining the Celtics before the trade deadline passes unrealistic,” Krivitsky wrote.
As Krivitsky points out, sending away Al Horford’s contract as well as several other vital bench pieces would be necessary — and that’s a price Celtics President of Basketball Operations would be hesitant to pay.
“As much as either player could help Boston’s quest for Banner 18, the idea of the Celtics reconfiguring their top six or parting with Al Horford and reconstructing their second unit to do so is highly unlikely to happen,” Krivitsky wrote.
As NBC Sports Boston’s Jordan Daly reports, the Celtics are unlikely to add a game-changer at the February 8 deadline; likely writing off the addition of either career 15-point-per-game scorer in the next few weeks.
“With most of the minutes already claimed in Boston’s nightly rotation, the Celtics aren’t looking to bring in a game-changing player — their main rotation is set and proven to work,” Daly prefaced before saying, “Boston’s bench — which was seen as a weak point before the season — has slowly proven its ability to play meaningful minutes, playing team-first basketball with the goal of getting wins over individual accomplishments. With that in mind, it can still never hurt to add more depth.”
Given the amount of playing time available, Bogdanovic or Bogdanovic wouldn’t be able to give the Celtics their contract’s worth. The same role is available to either as would be a Grant Williams TPE-eligible contract. That’d be a better way to spend money and cede assets, though anyone making $6.2 million or less would cost a fraction of the price either Bogdanovic would.