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3 Remaining Free Agents That Need to Be on the Celtics’ Radar

By Devon Platana

Apr 4, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin before action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin before action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA offseason is blazing by, leaving just over two months until the Celtics take to the court. Expectations are high as usual for Boston, especially after the organization has reached the Eastern Conference Finals five times with one NBA Finals appearance since 2016.

The motivation to win now is only elevated when you have oddsmakers like FanDuel Sportsbook give the Celtics the best odds (+470) to win the 2023-24 NBA Championship.

Joe Mazzulla and his players can’t fall short of their goal again, especially in the midst of a 15-year championship drought. The good news is that Boston still has a couple of open roster spots that can be used to flesh out the team, making it as much of a contender as possible.

Here’s a look at three remaining free agents that need to be on the Celtics’ radar ahead of the upcoming season.

Celtics Roster Rumors

1. Blake Griffin

Sometimes the best available free agents are the most familiar ones. In this case, that’s none other than six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin.

Make no mistake: this isn’t vintage Griffin. At 34 years old, the former 2009 first-overall pick isn’t going to average a double-double while dropping jaws with highlight-reel dunks on any given night.

Having said that, the Celtics learned last season that Griffin still has tremendous value at this point in his career.

He’s a consummate professional who brought nothing but good vibes to Boston’s locker room. His teammates and coaches had nothing but good things to say about him, highlighting his ability to elevate the team even when he isn’t on the floor.

And even when he did get some playing time, Griffin was far from downright horrible. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds over 41 games (10.8 and 9.8 per 36 minutes, respectively) and even finished with 59.0% true shooting — the best mark of his career.

Adding Griffin on a veteran minimum deal makes a ton of sense. He already knows the players, coaches, and system and has proven that he can occasionally handle a bigger role when needed.

Plus his return would make a lot of Celtics fans happy.

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