The Boston Celtics got their guy in Kemba Walker but Danny Ainge can’t ease up now.
Surprise, Nick Wright is wrong once again. After sarcastically commenting on the Boston Celtics ability to sign a highly coveted free agent, the all-time leader in championships went out and did just that signing Kemba Walker to a 4-year $141 million deal.
Ironically, the same amount of money that Kyrie signed for with the Brooklyn Nets. Good riddance.
Kemba adds immediate offense to a team that struggled to score consistently in the post-season. The former UCONN guard is arguably coming off one of the best seasons of his eight-year career where he averaged 25.6 ppg, 5.9 AST, and 4.4 REB. While Kyrie had a bit of a better shooting percentage than Walker (48.7 percent FG vs 43.4 percent FG), the Charlotte all-star had little to no help from his supporting cast.
With capable teammates finally by his side, look for Kemba to have one of the more efficient seasons he’s had in his career.
So Kemba helps replace Kyrie with a slight drop-off at most but with news that Al Horford is set to receive a fat contract from the Sacramento Kings and leave via free agency, the Boston Celtics roster is far from complete.
If Boston chooses to stay pat and make no more moves their current starting lineup would look like this: PG – Kemba Walker, SG – Jaylen Brown, SF-Gordon Hayward, PF- Jayson Tatum, C-Robert Williams?
While I’m a bit higher on Robert Williams than most, he simply can not go into the 2019/2020 season as your starting center. The drop-off from Horford to Williams is too significant which makes this current roster inferior to last years.
With that being said, the Boston Celtics need to add some more pieces to ensure they are in a better place than they were compared last year.
The Boston Celtics next course of action
After signing Kemba Walker to his $141 million deal, the Boston Celtics do not have a lot of cap space to work with to add another premier free agent.
For Boston, the next step -- barring a significant trade -- will be finding a big with the $4.6 million room exception. Robin Lopez -- who has killed the Celtics in recent years -- is a possibility, though he may reel in a bigger offer.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) June 29, 2019
What this boils down to is convincing a seasoned veteran to sign with the Boston Celtics for a mid-level exception for the chance to pursue a championship. It’s beyond obvious that the Celtics do not have the best roster on paper so this may take some serious Danny Ainge convincing.
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Current reports suggest that the Celtics are interested in bringing in Enes Kanter or Kevon Looney. Kanter would be welcomed addition to the Celtics roster after averaging 13.1 ppg and 8.6 reb this past season. Given his production, Kanter is going to receive a bigger contract to sign elsewhere and would likely pass up on a MLE offer from Boston. Looney is a much more realistic option.
Yes, Looney only averaged 6.2 ppg and 5.2 reb this past season but he only averaged 18.5 mpg. Per 36 minutes Looney averaged 12.1 ppg and 10.1 reb.
Given the current state of the Celtics frontcourt, Looney would be in line for some serious playing time which is why he should seriously consider coming to Boston.
Looney is also only 23 years old and is still viewed by many as a work in progress. If anyone can get the most out of a young player, it’s Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. He turned Isaiah Thomas into a top 5 MVP candidate not too long ago. While the circumstances are vastly different, adding a young player like Looney might be the Celtics best option. Stevens would have the opportunity to mold a young athletic center into a player that be a valued contributor for the Boston Celtics.
In regards to the Chris Mannix tweet above, I would rather add a young player with much more upside that can rebound than a 31-year-old Robin Lopez who averaged just 3.9 reb this past season.
Other Options?
Another way to upgrade the center position could come in the way of a trade. The Boston Celtics have exhibited interest in Houston Rockets big man Clint Capela. Those rumors have since died down, but if your Danny Ainge it has to be an opportunity worth continued exploration.
To acquire Capela the Celtics would need to shed some cap space by sending out a guy like Marcus Smart and a young player/recent draft pick with. It would be difficult for the team to send away a focal part of the organization’s identity but in the end, it makes the team better overall. A starting 5 of Kemba, Jaylen, Jayson, Hayward, and Capella would be good enough to challenge any team in the Eastern Conference and would give the Celtics the best shot at finally capturing banner No.18.
Another option?
Bring back Al Horford.
“But wait I thought you just said he was leaving for the Kings!”
While that seems like the most likely scenario, there is a possibility where the team could bring back Horford, but it would be a bit tricky.
In Layman’s terms, this means that the Boston Celtics would be able to bring in Kemba, retain Al Horford, AND bring back Marcus Morris essentially making this offseason a Kyrie and Kemba swap.
As the free agency period continues to heat up, this is something to monitor going forward.