After losing three centers/power forwards last offseason, the Boston Celtics needed to replenish their size. They partially addressed that issue at the NBA Trade Deadline last month, trading Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vucevic.
A two-time All-Star, Vucevic hadn't been a full-time bench player since his rookie year with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2011-2012 season. However, with Neemias Queta thriving as their starting center, the Celtics immediately moved Vucevic to the bench.
That's meant considerably less playing time for the 35-year-old veteran, who's averaging 23.9 minutes per game since the trade compared to 30.8 minutes before the trade. However, NBA analyst Zach Lowe believes the role makes sense for him at this stage of his career.
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"This is an overdue transition for him into a backup center role, which he is fine for, because there are just gonna be some matchups where the 'A Team' offense on the other team is just too fast and too dynamic for him," Lowe said on Monday's episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast." "I think he was just overmatched as a starting center in his mid-to-late 30s, and this is a totally fine role for him."
While Vucevic is a bit past his prime, he can still be an effective role player in smaller doses off the bench with his rebounding, scoring and shooting. And as mentioned, he also gives Boston some much-needed size as it gears up for the postseason.
"You can't really survive in the playoffs anymore unless you can have size. You have no chance," Simmons added, citing all the teams with size in both conferences. "You're not getting away with like the 2015 Warriors type of 'let's go small.' Those days are over."
Time will tell how Vucevic holds up down the stretch, but his new role should also help keep him fresh for the playoffs.
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