The Smart departure should also free up more minutes for Payton Pritchard, a 40-percent career 3-point shooter, and Malcolm Brogdon, who ranked fourth league-wide last season at 44.4 percent from behind the arc.
#CELTICS TEAM ROSTER UPGRADE#
Purely as a shooting threat, Porziņģis is an upgrade over Smart.
Mazzulla, who has made no secret of how much he appreciates 3-point shooting, could also have even more of it at his disposal now. Though the team lost some of its defensive switchability with the losses of Smart and Grant Williams, the new-look roster is teeming with size and rim protection. The Celtics have already pulled off their most significant shakeup in the trade of Smart for Porziņģis. Both players were former first-round picks looking for a spot to reestablish themselves. He looked outside of the league for players to compete for the final roster spots last season, targeting Vonleh after a season in China and Bruno Caboclo after a stint in Brazil. Stevens doesn’t necessarily need to limit himself to current NBA players.
#CELTICS TEAM ROSTER CRACK#
Such players wouldn’t be expected to crack the regular Celtics rotation but could be helpful when the team is dealing with absences. Griffin remains a free agent after providing solid minutes in his role for Boston last season. Terence Davis remains unsigned despite contributing to the Kings over the past couple of seasons. Svi Mykhailiuk played well late last season for Charlotte, shooting 40.4 percent on 3-point attempts for the Hornets. Warren had a down season after dealing with serious injury issues but has long been able to put the ball in the basket. Javonte Green experienced knee problems last season but is a world-class athlete when healthy, as the Celtics know after his stint with the team years ago. And I would expect the Celtics to be similarly cautious with Williams.Ĭould any free agents help? Most of the intriguing free agents have already found landing spots, but some veterans remain unsigned. The 37-year-old Horford can at the very least be expected to miss 14 games when Boston has back-to-backs. Porziņģis and Williams have regularly missed significant time throughout their careers.
The depth there shouldn’t be an issue when the entire roster is available, but it could become one when the Celtics’ frontcourt is short-handed – and that group could be short-handed often. Steward, who could end up with the Maine Celtics, gives the organization a bit more depth at the position.īoston’s biggest remaining need is probably on the wing, as Stevens emphasized in July. Behind those guys, Boston has used a pair of two-way contracts on young guards in Davison and Scrubb. That suggests he’s satisfied with a backcourt of White, Brogdon and Pritchard. Power Forward: Al Horford, Oshae BrissettĬenter: Kristaps Porziņģis, Robert Williams, Luke Kornet (non-guaranteed)Īfter trading Smart for Porziņģis, Stevens made it clear the Celtics wanted to rebalance the roster by moving a guard for a big man. Small forward: Jayson Tatum, Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh Shooting guard: Jaylen Brown, Dalano Banton (partial guarantee) Davison (two-way), Jay Scrubb (two-way), D.J. Point guard: Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, Payton Pritchard, J.D. Here’s a look at the current Boston depth chart: Beyond the regular roster players, Stevens has one more two-way contract opening to fill behind J.D. The Celtics also seem to be high on Banton, who they targeted early in free agency, but only $200,000 of his contract is guaranteed. Though Kornet’s contract is non-guaranteed, he was dependable last season when given the opportunity and is an extremely well-liked guy in the locker room. As the roster currently stands, they have at least two spots available though they could clear more space by waiving either Luke Kornet or Dalano Banton.
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