Welcome back to the second and final part of Finding the Muscala, where we search for low-cost backup big options in response to the larger trade rumors surrounding the Celtics in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline.
As a refresher, we’re not explicitly in the search for the next Mike Muscala specifically, but rather a trade that reaches high on the Muscala Meter (not real or quantifiable) of being low-cost and significantly lower-risk than, say, any trade involving the contract of Anfernee Simons and a selection of first round picks.
The first part featuring Marvin Bagley, Jalen Smith and Nick Richards, led to some productive and engaging conversations in the comments, so thank you to all the MuscalApologists (working title) for contributing to this short series.
This wasn’t done in the previous Muscala piece, but with today’s three bigs, we’re ordering their contract values in descending order, starting with a higher-priced backup big that might require a slightly bigger deal to acquire.
Let’s jump in and talk backups.
Goga Bitadze
Entering the season on Year 2 of his 3-year, $25 million deal signed with Orlando, Goga Bitadze has been a valued bench piece for the Magic since he signed there in February 2023. The Magic have been stuck in neutral during that time under head coach Jamahl Mosley, and something tells me they’re a smart pick for a roster shakeup during the deadline.
Bitadze, only 26 and in his eighth NBA season, is a hulking 6’10”, 250-pound center that may not impose his will on offense as much as you’d envision from a player of his size and mobility, but he has still carved out a career as a rock solid rim protector and rebounder.
His game isn’t without its caveats though. He’s a non-shooter, a surprisingly unimpactful screener and a non-factor as a playmaker/ball-mover.
Bitadze’s rim protecting ability has held serious weight to his time on the floor these past few seasons for the defensive-minded Magic, but it seems his offensive limitations are factoring into his way out the door.
On Monday and Wednesday this week, he was a coach’s decision DNP, with Orlando instead opting for the recently-returned Mo Wagner’s offensive skillset behind Wendell Carter Jr.
For Boston, while not the perfect fit for his lack of versatility, Bitadze does fill a need and does so on a reasonable contract (though one that gives him significantly more than current starter Neemias Queta).
When it comes to actually considering a hypothetical trade, we had a similar discussion in the last part in regards to Bulls big man Jalen Smith, who has a comparable contract to Bitadze’s that would require a conversation that goes a little further than a package surrounding Xavier Tillman or Chris Boucher’s expiring deals.
To acquire Goga in a two-team deal, it would take giving up Sam Hauser, and that’s a hard sell for a large majority of the fanbase, and probably Brad Stevens, even if it brings in a helpful player at a position of need. For Orlando, a team that is 28th in 3-point shooting efficiency this season, that’d be a pretty major boon for them.
But to add even further to the discussion, that one-for-one swap wouldn’t be possible on Orlando’s end since they are a hard-capped first apron team. They’d need to add a little something extra to get that deal over the hump, something like the rookie-scale contract of second-round French prospect Noah Penda, who has impressed in limited minutes as a capable shooting threat and versatile 6’7” defender.
This would be an interesting proposition for both sides, filling needs for both teams in a mid-sized trade that sends off two talented veterans and one prospect to new homes.
Andre Drummond
Outside of a Jalen Springer-sized trade or a draft day pick swap, would the Philadelphia 76ers really be looking to deal directly with a conference rival concerning their best rebounder?
Probably not, however, according to 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey, they are at least open to the idea of moving their valued backup big. The Sixers are $7 million above the allowable threshold to avoid being taxed and around $1 million away from being a first-apron team according to Pompey, and a move off Drummond’s expiring $5 million contract without a player in return would certain aid in their quest to avoid that tax.
Could the right draft asset cocktail be enough to sway the Sixers? Unlikely, but it’s worth exploring because Drummond’s skillset and extremely favorable expiring contract is about as close to an ideal deadline acquisition as Boston is going to find in its search through the lower-level marketplace.
Drummond is, and has always been, a phenomenal rebounder, and this season has been no different. He’s been the ideal spot starter for Joel Embiid, a very solid backup when Embiid is available, and, surprisingly, a capable 3-point shooter for the first time in his career (36% on 1.3 attempts per game). In 20 minutes a night, Drummond gives Philly 7 points on 50% shooting, 9 rebounds and a block per game.
This season, the data backs up the eye test, Drummond is simply outstanding on the glass, rating near the very top of most rebounding metrics on both ends of the floor
Defensively, Drummond’s strength and size gives the team a primary defender for the game’s more physically imposing interior bullies that Boston has struggled with up to this point in the season.
Drummond is an excellent backup center, and the Sixers know that. Philly currently enlists second-year UCLA product Adem Bona as their third center, meaning they’d be sacrificing some serious depth unless they take a player back or make another move (Kelly Oubre Jr. was also mentioned by Pompey as a possible trade candidate).
Is the tax-evading effort worth it to provide Boston with the exact type of backup big they’d want to add to their frontcourt stable? It’d take some convincing, and some valued second round draft capital, but the fact that Brad Stevens and Daryl Morey have come to an agreement before at least means a conversation is possible, and worth the 406 words it took to discuss it.
Kevin Love
We didn’t use the word “scrounging” in the first Muscala headline just for fun.
We are foraging across the NBA big man marketplace here, and this is the trade equivalent to sticking our hand in the bottom of a Walmart DVD bargain bin. We shouldn’t be surprised to pull out something we may not find sense or value in. But even if it’s some obscure John Wayne western we’ve never heard of, the price tag says $2, so what’s the harm in talking about it?
And I’ll say it, even at the ripe old age of 37, Kevin Love is still a pretty interesting player to watch. And dare I say, a contributor in certain facets.
Love is sort of the NBA equivalent to George Clooney. Once a bankable star, Clooney is rarely seen and hardly mentioned these days, yet you’ll randomly spot him grizzled and gray in a Nespresso Super Bowl commercial and think “Yep, Clooney’s still got it.”
You watch a few current K-Love clips at his best and tell me you don’t see at least a fundamentally sound past-his-prime star that’s career is on the cusp of fading out into a planetary nebula.
Love is spending the season in Utah surrounded by one of the league’s younger rosters embarking on a patient rebuild, yet he is still finding his way into minutes. Consider this, on a team that has modest frontcourt depth despite the early-season loss of Walker Kessler, Love’s 457 minutes on the floor double the minutes of Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman combined.
So while we’re not talking about a sizable upgrade, we are talking about a 17-year vet that is still finding a spot in an NBA rotation. That’s not nothing.That’s a playable deep bench addition.
Love is at his best when the ball is touching and leaving his hand in one fell swoop. His 40% 3-point catch-and-shoot efficiency on 3.3 attempts per game is his best since the 2017-18 season in Cleveland where he shot 41% on five attempts.
The current version of Love does two things particularly well: he’s a capable movement shooter and a productive rebounder. All other impact areas are either neutral or outright negatives, but in those two areas, he can help an NBA team in some capacity.
We’ve seen Luka Garza take a leap in confidence and efficiency as a pick-and-pop threat, giving Boston one big that can actually stretch the floor. For a team that loves active screeners, Spain pick-and-rolls and flare screens, an additional shooter with size would add some value to the deep bench options at Joe Mazzulla’s disposal, while also adding another energetic fighter on the glass.
Love has implemented himself well into Utah’s roster this season, a far cry from his final days in Cleveland when their Big 3 disbanded, and it seems he’s embraced his veteran role in a way that makes him an unlikely buyout candidate.
It’s funny to think how the 2014 “Summer of Love” set social media ablaze when Love was spotted at a Red Sox game shaking hands with Rajon Rondo, indicating hope of another major star acquisition heading to Boston. That never materialized, but maybe before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, just nine days before Valentine’s Day, the Celtics will finally get their shot at Love.
