{"id":172984,"date":"2026-01-16T10:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=172984"},"modified":"2026-01-16T10:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:14:07","slug":"five-reasons-why-the-celtics-wont-land-jaren-jackson-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/16\/five-reasons-why-the-celtics-wont-land-jaren-jackson-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Reasons Why The Celtics Won’t Land Jaren Jackson Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON \u2014 The Boston Celtics<\/a> have surprised even their most ardent supporters. They currently sit third with a 25\u201315 record. With Jayson Tatum\u2019s<\/a> return on the horizon, the Celtics have been linked with Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/a> They could make that move to solve their frontcourt issues. It is unlikely they will make this move, and I will explain why.<\/p>\n

Five Reasons Why The Celtics Won’t Land Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/h2>\n
\"Apr
Apr 9, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) blocks a shot by Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) during the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Celtics own the second-best<\/a> offense in the league. Their defense has been good, though not dominant, ranking 15th. Boston defends the paint extremely well. They give up the second-fewest<\/a> points in the league. They do this despite a frontcourt rotation dominated by unheralded castaways from other teams. None of them are former first-rounders. Still, head coach Joe Mazzulla and his staff have found a way to make it work.<\/p>\n

The Fit and the Frontcourt Logjam<\/h3>\n

The emergence of Neemias Queta<\/a> has helped mask the team\u2019s lack of proven frontcourt depth. The team knows it needs a starting-caliber center. To that end, they have been linked with elite bigs like Ivica Zubac<\/a> and Daniel Gafford<\/a>. It is no surprise, then, that rumors have emerged linking them with Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/i\/status\/2011104179968766046<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old 2022\u201323 Defensive Player of the Year is a two-time All-Star. He is also a two-time block champion and a three-time All-Defensive Team selection. He owns career averages of 18.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks. Jackson Jr. is a great player. His skill set would fit into the Celtics system like a glove. He provides elite spacing in five-man lineups and elite rim protection. He would play a role similar to Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite these positives, a trade remains unlikely. Jackson Jr. is a poor rebounder for his size. This season, his rebounding percentage ranks bottom-five<\/a> among qualifying centers. Trading for him would not fix Boston\u2019s rebounding issues.<\/p>\n

Role, Usage, and Contract Concerns<\/h3>\n

This leads to his fit alongside the core. Jackson Jr. has shown his best position is power forward beside a dominant center. That alignment would force Boston to move Tatum to small forward. It would also push Jaylen Brown<\/a> to shooting guard. Brown has been elite guarding wings. Asking him to guard quicker guards could prove too taxing given his build.<\/p>\n

Jackson Jr. also thrives in isolation. He has often served as the top scoring option when Ja Morant<\/a> has missed time. He would need to sacrifice usage as a third option behind Tatum and Brown. It remains unclear if he would accept that role.<\/p>\n

His contract further complicates matters. He will make $49 million in 2027. He will earn $50.5 million in 2028, $52 million in 2029, and $53.5 million in 2030. That structure ties up Boston\u2019s flexibility for years. Boston has entered the second apron before to chase titles. They could do so again. Still, this level of financial commitment carries risk.<\/p>\n

A Tight-Lipped Front Office<\/h3>\n

Lastly, the Celtics operate quietly. Rumors rarely leak before trades. Porzi\u0146\u0123is and Holiday arrived without warning. The presence of this rumor likely signals the deal will not happen.<\/p>\n

Boston would also need to offer a pick-heavy package. They will not include their core in such a trade. Unfortunately, Boston does not own other teams\u2019 first-round picks. They can only offer Memphis their own\u00a0 picks. Those picks likely fall in the 20s. That could prove a difficult sell for the Grizzlies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

BOSTON \u2014 The Boston Celtics have surprised even their most ardent supporters. They currently sit third with a 25\u201315 record. With Jayson Tatum\u2019s return on the horizon, the Celtics have been linked with Jaren Jackson Jr. They could make that move to solve their frontcourt issues. It is unlikely they will make this move, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":172985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,5,3,4721],"tags":[50244,1948,450,798],"class_list":["post-172984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-celtics","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-2025-26-nba-season","tag-jaren-jackson-jr","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-jayson-tatum"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172986,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172984\/revisions\/172986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}