Boston Celtics NBA Trade Rumors: Will the Celtics Go After Carmelo Anthony This Offseason?
The Boston Celtics may have turned things against the Chicago Bulls with Rajon Rondo sidelined, but anyone can see that they are struggling in the playoffs. While rebounding remains their one glaring weakness, a lot of people have also noticed that the Celtics need another player to take some of the scoring load off of Isaiah Thomas.
Al Horford is one of the most versatile front court players in the league, but his scoring output has decreased this season and he can't possibly carry the load if Thomas has an off night. Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder can't do it on a consistent basis either. The Celtics have even decided to go small in the past two games and started Gerald Green over Amir Johnson to add more offensive firepower.
The team will have to address this issue, and according to the New York Post's Marc Berman, they may go after Carmelo Anthony again this offseason.
The Celtics were in the mix for the All-Star forward before the trade deadline in February, and Berman said a league source told him the Celtics coaching staff actually liked the idea of adding Anthony, but general manager Danny Ainge didn't want to pull the trigger.
"According to an NBA source, the Celtics coaching staff was in favor of trading for Anthony at the trade deadline, but general manager Danny Ainge had too many reservations. One of Ainge's concerns, according to a source, was an Anthony trade would have given Boston no real cap space to work with for the 2017 free-agent class," Berman said in his report.
"The Post has learned that in talks with the Celtics, their defensive small forward Jae Crowder would be a major player of interest for Knicks president Phil Jackson," he continued.
Well, acquiring Anthony won't solve their rebounding woes, but he should give the Celtics another proven scorer.