NBA Rumors: Boston Celtics aggressively trying to trade Brandon Bass
By Sam Richmond
The Boston Celtics are in the midst of a rebuild, so good-but-not-great-and-somewhat-expensive talents don’t really have much use for them.
More from Boston Celtics
- Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
- Jaylen Brown signs richest contract in NBA history without a left hand
- Boston Celtics projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
- David Griffin thanks rival Celtics for leverage in Anthony Davis trade talks
- NBA rumors: Damian Lillard trade becoming more trouble than it’s worth for Celtics
That, in part, is why the Celtics are attempting to move big man Brandon Bass, although they aren’t seeing much interest from the league in his services, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe.
"The league might be fetishisizing the 3-point shot, especially among big men, at the expense of other skills. The Celtics have tried like hell, but they can’t get anything of value on the trade market for Brandon Bass and his $6.9 million expiring contract."
While Bass has a fine mid-range game, he doesn’t have a three-point shot (he attempted just six all of last season), which Lowe suggests could be hurting his value.
The Celtics aren’t simply going to give away Bass (he averaged 11.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this past season), so unless a team changes course and offers Boston something of real value, don’t expect a deal to get done here.
But it’s certainly understandable why Boston would want to move Bass. The Celtics need to see if Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger are good enough to keep for the long haul and the 25-30 minutes Bass plays on a nightly basis obviously puts a ceiling on the two youngsters’ playing time.
Bass was selected in the second round of the 2005 draft by the then-New Orleans Hornets.