The Boston Celtics saw their season come to an end after losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. The loss brings mixed feelings as getting to the conference finals can be seen as an overachievement. Coming into the season, the Celtics were rarely mentioned when it came to contenders in the East. Losing to the Heat, however, is disappointing because it felt like Boston had a real shot at making the NBA Finals.
Looking ahead to next season, the Celtics have their work cut out for them in the East. Nearly all the oddsmakers in this list of US licenced sportsbooks have the Celtics behind the Bucks, Nets and Heat as NBA Champion favorites in 2021.
Boston must now decide whether to simply run it back, with a few minor additions, or to pursue a trade to try and put them over the top. This will be an interesting offseason for the Celtics, as they don’t have a ton of cap space to improve a bench that lacks firepower. They do, however, have three first-round draft picks that could be used to add young talent or used in a trade to acquire bench depth.
Pending Free Agents
The Celtics could have as many as six players hit the free agent market this offseason. Realistically, they will have about four players hit the open market, with three of them being restricted free agents in Brad Wanamaker, Tremont Waters and Tacko Fall.
Meanwhile, Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter each have player options for the upcoming season. Reports say it’s likely that Hayward will opt into his $34.2 million option. And while he struggled in his return from a sprained ankle in the playoffs, it was clear Hayward was nowhere near 100% healthy. Celtics fans should be rooting for Hayward to either opt-in to his player option or opt-out and sign a longer-term deal in Boston. Because even if he opts out, it won’t free up any cap space for the team.
Kanter, on the other hand, is a different situation. His role clearly diminished down the stretch, so if he is looking for more minutes, it’s likely he opts out and goes elsewhere. However, he loves it in Boston and continuously talks about how much he loves the team and his teammates. It also may be likely that he won’t get more than his player option on the open market. If he opts in, his 2020-21 salary is worth $5 million.
Semi Ojeleye is the last Celtic who could hit free agency, as he has a team option of about $1.8 million. If we are being honest, the only reason the Celtics really consider bringing Ojeleye back is because of his price tag. They are a luxury-tax team and need cheap players to fill out the bench.
Free Agent Targets
As a team in the luxury tax, the Celtics will only have the taxpayer mid-level exception to throw around in free agency. That is worth just over $6 million, so it is enough to add a decent bench piece. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough money to grab a dream target in free agency such as Davis Bertans, Joe Harris or Serge Ibaka.
Mid-Level Exception Targets
One name being thrown around for the Celtics is veteran big man Paul Millsap. At 35 years old, Millsap has shown that he still has something left in the tank. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 43.5% from three. He would allow the Celtics to play him at the small-ball five, or run at the four with a bigger lineup.
Justin Holiday would be another good option to use the MLE on. While his numbers don’t jump off the page — averaging just 8.3 points per game — he is a good shooter. Holiday shot 40.5% from three last season and can defend multiple positions on the perimeter.
One final target is to bring back former Celtic Aron Baynes. The Celtics didn’t want to trade Baynes last offseason, but they had to in order to create cap space to sign Kemba Walker. Baynes had a career-year in Phoenix, averaging 11.5 points per game and shooting 35.1% from three.
Veteran-Minimum Targets
A couple players that the Celtics could target on veteran-minimum contracts could be Jeff Teague or Celtic fan-favorite Isaiah Thomas. If Wanamaker leaves in free agency, they will have a void at the backup point guard spot. It has been reported that Thomas underwent surgery to finally repair his right hip. At full strength, Thomas could be an ideal sixth man for the Celtics.
Teague, on the other hand, has been on the decline for the last couple of seasons. However, he can be a steady backup point guard in the right system. If Brad Stevens has shown anything, it’s that he can get the most out of point guards. Whether that be Thomas, Wanamaker or even Jordan Crawford.
Draft Targets
The Celtics own three picks in this year’s first round (14, 26, 30). Danny Ainge has hinted at the idea that the Celtics will be drafting for specific needs instead of going best player available in this draft. The needs are most likely shooting and a big man.
The first player the Celtics should be keying in on is sharpshooter Desmond Bane. Bane played four years at TCU and shot 43.3% from three over that span. He is also an underrated defender and along with his age (22), he hopefully won’t need to take a ton of time adjusting and developing to the NBA.
https://twitter.com/DBane0625/status/1311786721307230209?s=20
Another shooter the Celtics should be looking at is Tyrell Terry out of Stanford. He shot 40.8% from three in his one year as a Cardinal. He reminds me of a role-player version of Trae Young. While he may be a liability on defense, his shooting would help spread the floor on the offensive end, which the Celtics desperately need.
A big man who the Celtics could look at for one of their late first-round picks is Daniel Oturu out of Minnesota. Oturu was a force his sophomore year, averaging 20.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. At 6-foot-10, Oturu has the ability to protect the rim and has mobility on the perimeter. He has also seen improvement outside the arc, shooting 36.5% from three on 1.7 attempts per game his sophomore season. Oturu is far from a finished product, but has shown improvement in key areas that should translate to the NBA.
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