Does Nikola Vučević make the Celtics better?

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS

Everyone is looking for big men who can both space the floor and protect the rim, and the Boston Celtics found someone who can at least do one of those things: Nikola Vučević.

The Celtics scored Vučević for Anfernee Simons and a second-round draft pick, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The now-former Chicago Bulls center has shot 39.1% on 4.5 3-point attempts per game over the past two seasons. He is also, ugh, the anchor of the NBA’s 24th-rated defense.

How that helps the Celtics remains to be seen. They will add him to a big-man rotation that includes Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and Amari Williams — hardly a powerhouse rotation. It was seen at season’s start as worse than it is has been. Vučević is, at the very least, an upgrade over Garza as a reserve center on the Eastern Conference’s third-place roster.

Whether or not Vučević should be taking minutes from Queta is another matter. Queta, who is averaging 10.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, has been the starter for the NBA’s 11th-rated defense, and there are few more valuable contracts than his minimum deal.

Vučević makes more than $6 million fewer than Simons this season, which makes for considerable luxury-tax savings for the Celtics.

Whether or not it helps Boston on the basketball court, again, remains to be seen. Simons was a helpful player for the Celtics, averaging an efficient 14.2 points per game off the bench, and at 26 years old he is an intriguing investment for a Bulls team in need of youth.

Still, Vučević is a different kind of weapon for the league’s second-rated offense, providing depth to a frontcourt that needed it. He can score inside and out, averaging an efficient double-double (17.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game) across a two-time All-Star career.

The savings alone is probably worth the swap, and if Vučević gives the Celtics anything of value for the remainder of this season, when Jayson Tatum could return to the fold, forming a could-be contender in the Eastern Conference, Boston will be the better for it.

It probably does not come as coincidence that Boston made its move for Vučević in the hours after the Memphis Grizzlies traded Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz. A 26-year-old Defensive Player of the Year, now that may have moved the needle toward more serious championship contention for the Celtics. But they have old friend Danny Ainge, now Utah’s top executive, to thank for missing out on a real difference-maker in their frontcourt.