NBA Rumors: Thunder Star On Celtics Radar As Horford's Exit Looms

The Boston Celtics are hunting for a big center this summer as one of their main priorities, and have identified a number of targets. Oklahoma City Thunder big man Steven Adams is the latest to appear on the Celtics’ radar and they are said to be exploring a possible move this summer.

Brad Stevens will not have Aron Baynes available next season after he was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with their No. 24 pick in the 2019 Draft to Phoenix Suns, while there is a possibility that the Celtics will also be without Al Horford next campaign. The latter is expected to opt out of his deal and enter free agency to look at other options on the table.

The Celtics will need to bolster their squad and NBC Sports Boston is reporting that Adams is among the list of players they are considering signing via a trade. The Thunder center still has two years and $53 million remaining on his $100 million four-year deal he signed in 2016 and the Boston franchise will have to give up some assets or draft picks in order to sign him.

Thunder are said to be looking to shed salary and have made Adams available to interested teams but the report was unclear with regards to how high he is on the list of priorities for Boston. The 25-year-old New Zealander averaged almost a double-double last season with 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds and can be considered a player that can help the Celtics in the absence of Baynes and Horford next season.

The Celtics have also enquired about Houston Rockets center Clint Capela, who averaged 16.6 points and 12.7 rebounds last season. He is also under contract with the Rockets and the Celtics will have to give up assets to acquire him.

Another option for the Celtics, according to NBC Sports, is Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic, who made his All-Star debut last season. The Switzerland-born center is seen as a good replacement for Horford, who looks likely to leave the Celtics in the summer.

Vucevic averaged 20.8 points and 12 rebounds last season while also recording 60 double-doubles. He was only bettered by Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond and Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert, who had 69 and 66 double-doubles respectively.

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge seems happy with the squad at their disposal, even though they are facing the prospect of losing Kyrie Irving and failed in a trade move for Anthony Davis. He is banking on the young core of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown going forward and believes there are players keen to play in Boston.

"I'm excited about our team going forward. I like where we're headed. I like the core young group of guys and I think it's going to be really fun,” Ainge said, via NBC Sports Boston. "We have a very attractive franchise to play for, and there's a lot of people who would be dying to come play here."