While the high end talent of this year’s free agency class may be less than ideal, there are still plenty of players that the Boston Celtics can seek out to immediately make them a better team. One of the biggest needs for the Celtics is three point shooting and upcoming free agent Jared Dudley has spoken about the Celtics as a potential landing spot.
According to CLNS, Dudley had this to say about the Celtics: “I think I’d be a good fit for Boston. Since they need shooting, you can never have too much shooting”. First of all, Dudley is absolutely correct in his statement. The Warriors are proving, without a shade of doubt, that you absolutely need good shooters to be a top team, and the Celtics are in dire need of a three point shooter.
There has often been talk about the Celtics having a difficult time attracting free agents. Fortunately, Dudley has already demonstrated that will not be the case with him. He understands the kind of role he could have on the Celtics as a three point shooter, and he understands how well he could flourish in a system like the Celtics’. Dudley has already been a reliable and efficient shooter and that is exactly what the Celtics try to get out of their off ball shooters.
For someone like Dudley, it will certainly come down to money (largely based on what other free agents they manage to sign). Dudley understands what a great landing spot the Celtics are for him, and it is mutually beneficial.
Dudley is not the kind of talent that will come in and transform the Celtics, but he brings a particular skill that they desperately need. Dudley will likely have options in free agency, but it is great news for the Celtics that he is thinking about how he fits with them. If Dudley ends up getting multiple similar offers this summer, it appears as though the Celtics may have an edge over many others.
One thing that makes Dudley such n intriguing options for the Celtics is his consistency. His career three point shooting average is at 40% and he has taken at least 2.7 three pointers per game in each of the last seven seasons. Dudley would immediately be the most trusted and reliable three point shooter on the Celtics, and would go a long ways in helping establish a core of guards that desperately needs their offense to catch up to the defense.
The one thing that may hold Dudley back from the Celtics is a combination of the money he is looking for, with how much the Celtics value pure three point shooting. The Celtics cannot afford to lose the defensive edge that they get form their guards and it is uncertain exactly how well Dudley will hold up in that area.
Without being a standout defensive player, Dudley may never get the kind of role that he is searching for and that alone may make a difference in money too much to overcome. If the Celtics do not see Dudley as more than a pure three point shooter, then that is what they will be looking to pay him, and that will not be enough to take Isaiah Thomas or Avery Bradley out of the starting lineup.
If one party is looking for starter money and the other party is looking to pay him as a bench player, it may be impossible to come up with an agreeable deal. Dudley is clearly looking at the Celtics, and the Celtics need to look at three point shooters like Dudley, but that will not be enough to get a deal between the two of them done.
It is next to impossible to expect any player to come at a true bargain this offseason. Every single contract is going to be inflated because of the upcoming cap increase and that may make it difficult for the Celtics to offer Dudley the kind of money that he will be able to get on a team where he is a clear cut starter.
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Celtics fans should be pleased to hear that a free agent that could immediately help them has expressed interested in joining the team. Hopefully, that will not only be creating false hope because of money complications created by what will be one of the biggest spending summers in the history of the NBA.