Brad Stevens appears to be looking to bolster his frontcourt ahead of the trade deadline and may be turning to a familiar face to do so. League sources tell Michael Scotto of Hoopshype that Boston has expressed interest in Nuggets forward Jeff Green and Suns big man Jalen Smith in recent weeks. The team is also reportedly doing their ‘due diligence’ on a number of players amid a 20-21 start to the regular season.
Green played parts of four seasons in Boston before he was traded in January 2015 to the Memphis Grizzlies. He has played for 11 different teams in his NBA career, including currently for the Denver Nuggets, who signed him to a two-year contract last offseason for a portion of their mid-level exception. The 35-year-old has started in 24 of his 36 games for Nuggets this year, averaging 10.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Smith is a third-year center with the Suns who tied his career-high with 19 points against Boston last month. He has recently become a regular part of the Suns rotation after a multitude of injuries to their frontcourt, producing six straight double-digit scoring performances at one point. The 21-year-old is averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 19 games on the year.
MassLive analysis
These are far from big-ticket names that Boston has shown interest in, but it appears Brad Stevens is searching the market for another stretch power forward or center by inquiring on this duo.
Green is obviously the more proven performer. He largely underwhelmed during his time with the Celtics but he’s proven to be a valuable journeyman backup over the last few seasons in Brooklyn, Cleveland and a few other spots. He’s played a lot more than expected for the Nuggets this year due to injuries in their frontcourt where he’s provided a solid offensive punch but lackluster 3-point shooting (31 percent). Ime Udoka is quite familiar with him since they spent last season in Brooklyn together and Green would be a versatile fit in the team’s defensive switching scheme.
With that said, adding a 35-year-old journeyman doesn’t make a ton of sense with the other pieces on the roster. Green has a player option for next year at $4.5 million so he’s not guaranteed to stay beyond this season if he were acquired. If the asking price is cheap enough (second-round pick?), Green could be worth a flier but this certainly isn’t a player investing much in at this stage of his career.
Smith, a former lottery pick is a more intriguing name due to his youth. However, the Suns declined a team rookie option on him before the season, which means any team he is traded to can only offer him a maximum of $4.7 million to re-sign in the offseason. Otherwise, he’s an unrestricted free agent. The Celtics would be putting themselves at risk by acquiring Smith of losing him for nothing in that scenario if he ends up having a breakout second half of the year, something he has shown flashes of in Phoenix during the last month. Weighing the risk and reward of that possibility will surely bring down what Brad Stevens and other general managers around the league are willing to offer for the 6-foot-10 big man.
