The State of the Celtics Frontcourt
By Eric Cross
A lot of scrutinies were directed toward Boston’s big men this season. The Celtics have a lot of different ways they could go this offseason to make this group better.
Out of all the issues that plagued the 2016-17 Boston Celtics, their lack of rebounding was arguably the biggest flaw. Boston was the 4th worse rebounding team in both total rebounds and rebounding differential. Most of that falls squarely on the shoulders of Boston’s big men. There’s a lot of opportunities for this group to change over the summer, and hopefully for the better.
Key Players Moving Forward
Al Horford (Signed Through 2019-20)
Jae Crowder (Signed Through 2019-20)
Jaylen Brown (Signed Through 2020-21)
There’s only one player I could 100% say will be on this team next year, and that player is Al Horford. Every other player on this team has a chance to be gone via free agency or trade. The first season in Celtics green was a fairly productive one for Horford. In 68 games he averaged 14.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game.
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The scoring and rebounding were down from recent years, but his assists were easily a career high and a huge asset to this team. It’s always a bonus when you have a big man that can pass the ball like Horford can, but the Celtics really could have used a better rebounding season out of their starting center.
Therein lies the problem. Horford might be 6’10, but his game is much better suited for the power forward position as opposed to center. He’s never been a guy that will beat and bang on the low post. If the Celtics can somehow acquire a starting center this summer, whether that’s through free agency, the draft, or via trade, that should allow Horford to play more at the four next year and help his rebounding numbers.
Every team needs a glue guy. The type of player that will do the dirty work, but usually doesn’t get the recognition they deserve. Without question, that man on Boston’s roster is small forward Jae Crowder. The five-year veteran out of Marquette had another solid season in green, averaging 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. This season was also the best year he’s had shooting the ball. His .463 FG% and .398 3PT% were both career highs.
Crowder’s defense was his biggest asset to Boston this year. He was routinely the one called upon to guard players like LeBron James, Paul George, etc. He’s also locked into a pretty team friendly deal that will pay him in the vicinity of seven to eight million annually through 2020. The only way I see Crowder leaving this team is if he’s part of a package to get a superstar. Every team needs a Jae Crowder on their roster.
Whether you agreed with him being selected 3rd overall in the draft or not, there’s no denying that Jaylen Brown showed flashes of star potential during his rookie season. He has tremendous athleticism and vastly improved his shooting and overall offensive game as the season progressed. Brown’s natural position of small forward is currently occupied by Jae Crowder, but he has the quickness to play some shooting guard as well.
The Celtics have the rare combination of a good, deep roster, and lots of high first round draft picks. Thanks again Mikhail Prokhorov. With all the depth on this team, there weren’t many minutes to go around. Coach Brad Stevens played Brown an average of 17.2 minutes per game this season. However it needs to be done, Brown needs to play more minutes next season. It’s time to take the training wheels off and let this kid show us what he can really do. He should get a bump in minutes regardless, but if Avery Bradley or Crowder get dealt, Brown would be the logical choice to enter the starting lineup.
Should be Gone
Kelly Olynyk (RFA)
Amir Johnson (UFA)
Jonas Jerebko (UFA)
It’s time to get some fresh blood on this team. All of these players have provided some value to the Celtics at one point or another. Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko are both unrestricted free agents and it seems that this was their last season in Boston. Johnson will likely get a modest payday from a team looking for a big and it’s doubtful the Celtics get in a bidding war for him.
Jonas Jerebko is one of those guys that doesn’t help you much but also isn’t a detriment to your team either. With him out of the picture, that allows some of his 15.8 minutes per game to go to Brown.
The one player out of this trio with the best chance to stick around is newly labeled bad boy Kelly Olynyk. He’s a restricted free agent but will likely get paid more by a team looking for his type of service than the Celtics will want to shell out.
The Wild Cards
In addition to Brown, Boston had two other first round picks that haven’t even stepped foot in the TD Garden yet. With the 16th pick, they selected French forward Guerschon Yabusele. Yabusele played professionally in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) this season and showed a lot of potential. In 43 games for the Shanghai Sharks, he averaged 20.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game on 53 percent shooting.
Once Shanghai’s season came to an end, Yabusele came to the states and joined Boston’s D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, for the end of their season and subsequent playoff run. His initial showing in the U.S. was promising. In seven total games, he averaged 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game of Maine’s bench.
I had the opportunity to watch him in action during game five of the Red Claws 1st round playoff series against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 30 minutes off the bench, Yabusele impressed with 26 points and 9 rebounds on 10/14 shooting. He even chipped in two three’s for good measure. This guy is an absolute tank at 260 pounds and has an element of finesse to his game as well. We should see Yabusele with the Celtics next season as a key member of Boston’s bench.
I won’t go into great detail about Ante Zizic here, but for more about him, check out Michael DePrisco’s article. Zizic is the near seven footer that the Celtics have been missing for a while. He can rebound and defend the paint, which was two areas of concern for Boston this year. Just like Yabusele, Zizic will be a vital bench player next season. He could end up as the starting center if Boston doesn’t address that in the offseason.
The Non-Factors
Tyler Zeller (Signed Through 2017-18. Non-Guaranteed)
Jordan Mickey (Signed Through 2018-19)
Tyler Zeller has been a personal favorite of mine dating back to his North Carolina days, but his upside is just too low to make any sort of impact for this team. Jordan Mickey, on the other hand, has some upside as a shot blocker. The problem is that he’s never really been able to demonstrate that consistently at the NBA level. He’s a terrific D-League player and certainly a fun player to watch for the Maine Red Claws, but that’s looking like all he’ll ever be. If you’ve heard of the “Quad-A” label in baseball (Too good for the minors, not good enough for the majors), Mickey is that type of player.
Next: Gortat Should Take Avery Bradley More Seriously
It will be interesting to see what Danny Ainge does this off-season with the Celtic’s big men. There are a lot of moving pieces here. This could be a completely different looking front court when the 2017-18 season begins and hopefully, it will be a group that can actually rebound.