Is Big Baller Brand coming to Boston?
With a hole at point guard, the Celtics are expected to show interest in Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
New Orleans finds itself in the midst of an overhaul. The Pelicans hired head coach Stan Van Gundy to begin their offseason, in an apparent attempt to satisfy the disgruntled Zion Williamson. This week, the Pelicans traded away Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams to the Grizzlies to create additional salary cap room.
They will need it if they want to retain Ball, who’s a restricted free agent this summer. Charania says he could command $20-22 million annually.
That complicates matters for the Celtics. They can’t take back a player in a sign-and-trade without triggering a hard cap that would limit them to spending to the tax apron (about $139 million). Under those restrictions, Boston wouldn’t be able to exceed that total at any point next season.
The Celtics would likely also face competition for Ball’s services. Charania says the Bulls and Raptors are also possible suitors for the former No. 2 overall pick.
Still, the Celtics could use an upgrade at point guard after trading Kemba Walker, and it’s enticing to think about Ball in green. He’s coming off his best season ever, averaging a career-high 14.6 points per game for New Orleans. The fourth-year guard also raised his shooting percentage to 41 percent (up from 36 percent in his rookie season), and is a strong defender.
Earlier this summer, NBA Insider Jeff Goodman raised the possibility of the Celtics targeting Ball.
“I don’t know if you have enough shooting on the court if you bring in Lonzo, but if you bring in one more shooter and — I don’t know how the money would work — bring in a Lonzo Ball, he just makes people better and they haven’t had that for a while,” Goodman said on WEEI.
With that said, there's no word on whether LaVar Ball would be part of the package. Talking heads are hoping for "yes," while everyone else is probably hoping for "no."