Jason Terry and Celtics Reunion Makes Sense

Adding Jason Terry could help aid the Celtics three-point shooting

With a trade for a star player seeming less likely by the day, the Boston Celtics could help aid their roster going into this upcoming season by adding a veteran guard to their back court – Jason Terry. After spending eight seasons in Dallas – which also included a championship – Terry has bounced around over the past four seasons. He spent one season with the Celtics before being part of the historic trade to the Brooklyn Nets.

He then spent the past two seasons with the Houston Rockets, however, with Houston not planning on re-signing him, a reunion with the Boston Celtics wouldn’t be a bad idea. Terry joined the Celtics via free agency in Doc Rivers‘ final season in Boston, therefore the love for the city of Boston is there. He chose to come to Boston knowing the Big 3 era was coming to an end, so why wouldn’t he be happy to join an up-and-coming team?

Not to mention that the 38-year-old Washington native is extremely close with All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas. It’s no secret that Thomas loves his home state and anything that comes from it, and Terry has been very impressed by Thomas’ rise to stardom, as well. He was so impressed that he campaigned for Thomas to make the All-Star team this past season by making a post on The Players Tribune.

Also, after Boston missed out on Kevin Durant, Thomas told ESPN’s Chris Forsberg that he would love to see the Celtics go after Jason Terry.

Terry has already said that he plans on playing next season. He wants to play a couple more seasons before heading right into coaching – he interviewed for the University of Alabama-Birmingham job last year. While he might not be the same spark plug off the bench that he was for the 2011 Dallas Mavericks, Terry’s shooting and professionalism are things Boston could greatly use.

Adding another player to the back court might not be the most popular move since the front court is still hurting, but the back court is far from a finished product. At 33.5 percent from three last season, Boston was the third-worst three-point shooting team in the NBA. With the game becoming more perimeter-oriented, their shooting percentage paired with their insane amount of threes taken per game – 26.1, 11th in NBA – is why Boston needs to add a reliable three-point shooter.

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Despite drafting two potential three-point specialists in the past couple of drafts, neither are a guarantee to see any playing time, or be reliable shooters. James Young might not even make the roster, and, while R.J. Hunter put together a solid summer league – 47.2 three-point percentage – he shot a measly 29.9 percent from deep as a rookie in the NBA and D-League combined. There’s always a chance that he finds his footing in his second-year, but adding a proven veteran would be a safer option for a team who clearly wants to compete this season.

It would also give Hunter a chance to learn from one of the greatest three-point shooters ever. Terry has currently connected on the third most three-pointers ever and is the active leader in threes made.

In a sense, adding Terry would most likely mean the end of James Young. That wouldn’t be terrible though as Young has shown very little improvement in two-plus seasons. Still, the Celtics would have a crowded back court, which is why signing a vet who doesn’t need a lot of minutes makes sense.

The days of Terry seeing 30-plus minutes off the bench are over, in fact, he only saw 17.5 minutes per game last season in 72 appearances and seven starts. Also, Terry played 20 minutes or less in 52.8 percent of his appearances.

Having a reliable shooter off the bench to get Boston out of their famous scoring droughts isn’t a bad thing. Terry shot 35.6 percent from three last season, although it’s no secret that the Rockets were a mess. In 2014-15 when they went to the Western Conference Finals, Terry connected on 39 percent of his long-range shots, which would have ranked third on the team last season.

In Terry’s lone season with the Celtics, he shot 37.2 percent from three on 4.2 threes per game – averaging 10.1 points per game. A similar shooting percentage and efficiency would be expected from Terry, although in a smaller role. All Boston would want from Terry is to come in for 10 minutes a night and shoot.

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He has always been a shooter, but that part of his game has become even bigger over the past four seasons. Over the past four seasons, at least 50 percent of his shot attempts have come from behind the arc, and in the past three seasons at least 65 percent have come from three. With more than 90 percent of his threes coming off assists over the past two seasons, Terry has transformed into a spot-up shooter.

When it comes down to it, Terry isn’t going to make up the difference between Boston and Cleveland. Although, adding another veteran who knows the ropes as well as anyone in the NBA would be very beneficial for a younger team.

He’d be the second great locker room guy Boston would add this offseason, and would be fine being used sparingly off the bench – allowing Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier to continue to develop. Al Horford‘s locker room presence will be very helpful in the playoffs, and the same will go for Jason Terry, who went to two Finals with the Mavericks.

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He’ll give the Celtics a little extra boost in the middle of the game and won’t be begging for minutes like some younger players would. Terry knows his role on a team is as a mentor these days, not as a star bench player anymore. As he gears up for a future in coaching, helping the Celtics poor shooting and putting a couple of young guards under his wing for a season or two wouldn’t be the worst idea for either side.

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