Trade rumblings: Celtics reportedly showing interest in Jakob Poeltl

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics are the best team in basketball with one of the deepest rosters in the league. But that doesn't mean Brad Stevens won't try to improve his first-place team ahead of the NBA trade deadline.

And with the Feb. 9 deadline less than one month away, a potential trade target for the Celtics has emerged: San Antonio big man Jakob Poeltl. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Celtics and Toronto Raptors are among the teams showing "significant trade interest" Poeltl. The Raptors initially drafted the 7-foot-1 center with the ninth overall pick in 2016, but traded him to the Spurs in their 2018 blockbuster swap for Kawhi Leonard.

Poeltl, 27, would certainly give Boston some frontcourt depth behind Robert Williams III and Al Horford, and would likely slide into the role currently occupied by Luke Kornet. Poeltl would be especially handy in helping the team manage minutes among its bigs, and would be a nice insurance piece should either Williams or Horford go down with an injury. 

This season -- his seventh in the NBA -- Poeltl is averaging 12.3 points off 63.2 percent shooting to go 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He was primarily a bench player to start his career, but has started all but one of the 103 games that he's appeared in over the last two seasons.

He'll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so Poeltl could be just a rental player. Because of that, the price tag may not be too outrageous to add a solid interior presence, unless other teams jump in and San Antonio decides to really cash in.

But Brad Stevens does have a solid working relationship with Gregg Popovich, so don't be surprised if the two get together again for another mid-season swap.