Shams: Celtics ‘among teams that have shown interest’ in Kings’ Bjelica

In a wide-ranging article released Thursday morning, The Athletic’s Shams Charania relayed some eyebrow-raising intel on the state of the NBA trade market as the 2021 deadline draws nearer, and several nuggets in it related to the Boston Celtics.

In addition to the news that the Celtics had interest in Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant and Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic, Charania also related that the Celtics were among multiple teams with an eye for Sacramento Kings big man Nemanja Bjelica as a potential trade target. The 32-year-old has been having something of an off season with a struggling Kings team.

And while he’s shooting a career-low 31% from 3-point range, he’s a career marksman who has averaged 38.9% from beyond the arc.

Bjelica is also managing to score 8.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 17.5 minutes of play despite his career-low long-distance efficiency on a cheap deal — only $7.1 million.

While there are other teams with interest in the veteran big man, Bjelica could be a comparatively cheap upgrade to the Celtics’ bench should he be made available at the deadline.

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