Celtics Free Agency Up Till Now

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Jeff -

We are a few days into free agency now and my Celtics have done a few things. Some fans (delusional) expected us to make a big splash and sign some big names but let’s be honest, when do we ever make big free agency signings? That’s not the way the Celtics do business.

Kevin Love was a pipe dream. DeAndre Jordan? HA! Lamarcus Aldridge, don’t even bother. Greg Monroe? Forget it he is all Knicks.. wait.. what? THE BUCKS?!?!

All these big men that Celtics fans were sure we had a shot at and we end up with… Amir Johnson. Now unlike most Celtics fans I wasn’t expecting any big name free agents, so when I saw this signing I was pretty pleased.

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Amir is a guy that won’t put up crazy numbers or jump out on the screen but if you closely watch him you will see a guy that does so many small things on the court that make his team so much better. He sets great screens, plays good help defense, is a solid rebounder, and not to mention he has increased his range to the three point line (though with only 112 attempts in the last two years).

Now, did I like the $12 mill per year price tag? No, but it is at least reasonable. He will do a lot of good things for this young Boston team. Unfortunately, his arrival likely means we will let Brandon Bass walk, a fan favorite, and Ainge will possibly seek to move the young wrecking ball with a back problem, Jared Sullinger.

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Sullinger has won me over in the past 2 years, after I hated us drafting him. He has exceeded expectations but still struggles to stay healthy and I think Ainge is ready to cash out on this gamble. The Celtics still have a stable of bigs that include Tyler Zeller, Kelly Olynyk, Amir Johnson, Jordan Mickey, and Jonas Jerebko.

Another move the Celtics made was resigning Jae Crowder to a 5 year $35 million deal, which I personally think is a steal for the C’s. He’s young, versatile, and wanted to be in Boston. Now if we could only get him to change his number (although just about every number is in the rafters).

With the Celtics drafting Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter, that really leaves no glaring holes in the backcourt, and I fully expect the Celtics to sit tight for the rest of free agency, except for maybe trying to move somebody.

For some reason Celtics fans still think we have a shot at Tobias Harris, but we have absolutely no space for him on this roster and it doesn’t make sense to even throw an offer at him. Crowder, Young, Turner, and Datome (though he is a free agent still at the moment) fill out the spot nicely.

All in all, the Celtics did some nice things and made some moves to improve the roster. They are still a young team with a good core of players to build around. We aren’t going to contend this year, or even next year, but Ainge has put down the groundwork for a contender coming up very soon and I am excited.


Go find Jeff on Twitter at @Jeffkay1989