The Boston Celtics have proved to be one of the best teams in the NBA in 2019-20. That doesn’t mean they can’t shore up some loose ends this offseason.
It would be remiss of us to say the Boston Celtics didn’t roster one of the most menacing core units in the entire association. From their All-Star duo of Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum, to borderline All-Star Jaylen Brown, former All-Star Gordon Hayward and All-Defensive/ Defensive Player of the Year candidate Marcus Smart, this 2019-20 C’s team is one chock full of talented ballers.
Behind these talents, and their impressive performances all year long, Boston managed to become one of the top-seeded squads in nearly every power ranking prior to March 11th’s COVID-19 induced hiatus.
Through 64 games, the team accumulated a record of 43-21, slotting them in as the third seed in the Eastern Conference standings, the fifth seed in the entire NBA and, with their victory over the Indiana Pacers on March 10th, were slated to appear in their sixth straight postseason.
Yup, the shamrocks were playing like a well oiled machine and, with health slowly come back to their side as the season was progressing, appeared to be heading into the playoffs with substantial momentum.
However, even with this, it’s still safe to say Boston was a team far from being seen as “perfect.” We’ve discussed it numerous times throughout the season: the team, though impressive, has many holes within their roster/ rotation.
From their front court depth to the production within their second unit, there are many areas in which the team could use some improvements.
Today, in regard to bolstering their bench, we’ll be discussing two players who the Boston Celtics should pursue this offseason via free agency.
Jeff Teague, PG
There have been many things we’ve discussed throughout the season in regard to improvements the Boston Celtics could make to their roster. The most oft brushed upon topic area: the center position.
Second most? Backup point guard.
It’s no secret that we (I) don’t view Brad Wanamaker as the long-term answer as Kemba Walker’s primary backup. Through 63 games played the senior citizen sophomore (30 years old) is putting up averages of 6.6 points, 2.5 assists and two boards per game on 43 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from deep.
Granted, the Celtics haven’t asked him to take on a major role outside of relieving front court players, but he also hasn’t proven capable of doing so if needed. With the lingering knee injury that has impacted starter Kemba Walker for a solid portion of the season, it should be more important than previously believed to stock up on solid backup solutions for the All-Star should he be forced to miss time down the road.
To put it simply: Brad Wanamaker is not that guy.
Showing no signs of being capable of leading an offense (something a point guard should be able to do) while also proving to struggle in the facilitation game, the team should strongly consider finding his replacement this offseason.
With this in mind, Danny Ainge should ponder on the possibility of bringing a proven veteran like Jeff Teague to the team as their primary backup.
Currently in the midst of his tenth season in the league — and in his second stint with the Atlanta Hawks — the 31 year old point guard is posting averages of 10.9 points and 5.2 assists on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from 3.
Though no longer an All-Star, the veteran has made a name for himself as a player who can create for his own offense as well as for others via his playmaking skills and has proven capable of taking command of an offense.
With nine years of postseason experience (four of which saw deep runs) Teague could also play the role of mentor and seasoned veteran for this incredibly young Celtics roster (average age hovers around 24 years old).
Adding him to this team next season would provide them with a fantastic second unit primary ball handler who, if asked, has shown to still have the capability of stepping into a starting role and producing quite well — averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 assists and a steal per game on 38 percent shooting from deep in 17 starts during the 2019-20 season.
Jordan Clarkson, SG
The Boston Celtics need to figure out how to improve their scoring game off the bench, and Jordan Clarkson may be a fine answer for them.
Currently, the shamrocks second unit ranks 29th in the league in points per game (27.2), 27th in 3-point percentage (31.6) and 22nd in offensive rating (52.3). In short: their offensive production off the pine has been mediocre at best throughout the 2019-20 season and they need to add on a player who can potentially fix these problems.
Coming into the season, the potential offensive production within the team’s second unit was seen as quite a promising asset. With the free agent signing of gifted offensive big man Enes Kanter along with rookie talent Carsen Edwards (averaged 24.3 points per game on 36 percent shooting from deep during his final season at Purdue), the idea that the shamrocks would have, at least, a solid scoring punch off the bench was certainly nothing to scoff at.
Unfortunately, however, as we now know this never wound up being the case: Kanter is seeing incredibly low averages of 8.2 points and 7.7 rebounds while Edwards has averaged a mere three points on just 33 percent shooting from the field and has been in and out of the G-League.
A guy like Clarkson would easily be a welcomed sight to see coming off the bench for the Celtics next season. Known for his offensive talents, the sixth year shooting guard is finding great consistency in 2019-20, averaging 15.1 points and 2.7 rebounds on 47 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from downtown.
Heading to free agency this offseason — whenever that is — the 27 year old will likely be sought after by numerous contenders looking for an extra offensive spark plug for their rotation.
For the Boston Celtics and their current situation within their second team, pursuing Jordan Clarkson should be a no-brainer.