Boston Celtics

Ainge on Celtics' top trade target: 'Ideally, it'd be a big man'

Published Dec. 18, 2015 8:56 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Boston Celtics are in the hunt for a go-to scorer. They haven't had one since the tail end of Paul Pierce's prime, and now that they're competitive, they might be willing to cash out a few future assets in a trade.

Here's what Danny Ainge had to recently say about it, per ESPN Boston:

Boston's offense has held up reasonably well thanks to some stellar play by Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and a few guys in the frontcourt.

But to win a playoff series they'll need a more capable option; someone with size who can effortlessly draw a double team and break an opposing defense down.

Is that DeMarcus Cousins? Is it Dwight Howard? Is it Carmelo Anthony? Is he not currently in the league? The next few months should be fascinating.

"I think the one thing that we could really use is a go-to scorer," said Ainge. "We have some guys that have carried us -- Kelly [Olynyk has] carried us, Avery [Bradley has] carried us, Isaiah [Thomas has] carried us, [Jared Sullinger has] carried us at moments during the season, Evan Turner has carried us -- but it would be nice to find another player that’s a reliable scorer at the end of games, night in and night out." Thomas scored 38 points during Wednesday's loss to the Detroit Pistons and has been one of the league's best fourth-quarter scorers since arriving in Boston, but the Celtics clearly could use another option, particularly when teams put an emphasis on stopping Thomas. Ainge said it didn't matter which position that go-to scorer played, but given Boston's current roster configuration, he added, "Ideally, it’d be a big man, but it doesn’t have to be."