The Boston Celtics could use their mid-level exception this offseason to bring on an impact player in their rotation.
Now that the bubble experience down in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on the campus of Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports has ended, the Boston Celtics have their focus on how the roster can improve in the offseason.
Danny Ainge has made it a point to declare that the team is going to improve, saying that the team underperformed when the lights were shining their brightest:
"“We feel like we can beat Miami, but we didn’t. They beat us fair and square. They played better down the stretch of the games in that series. I have great respect for them and all that they’ve accomplished. We’re going to try to get better.”"
Ainge is promising Celtics nation that the team will improve, but don’t forget how difficult it will be to improve; Boston is deep into luxury-tax territory and doesn’t have even a dollar of cap space to spend this offseason.
They do have several incoming first-round draft selections, three to be exact, but don’t have a high enough pick to draft the obvious center of the future or the eventual point guard successor to Kemba Walker.
What they do have this offseason–and what holds more value on a winning franchise like the Boston Celtics–is the mid-level exception at their disposal.
Just who might Ainge pursue this offseason to add to a mix of veterans and ascending youth? Here are the Houdini’s three choices:
Aron Baynes
Boston Celtics fans should all be willing to accept Aron Baynes back onto the roster given the lack of established big men options on the depth chart. The postseason showed that Daniel Theis can hold his own, but when tasked with a dominant offensive big like Bam Adebayo, is unable to contain the best of the best.
Behind Theis, Robert Williams proved that he holds value as a bouncy backup big that can play dominant defenses for stretches. The Time-Lord most certainly has a place in future plans after his impressive play against the Toronto Raptors, a series where he leaped Enes Kanter on the depth chart for good.
Speaking of Kanter, the Turkish big was all but unplayable against the Miami Heat, only seeing burn when matched up against the likes of Kelly Olynyk. It might be worth it for the ten-year veteran to take to the free-agent market given the lack of opportunities that should be available to him next season.
Finally, there is Vincent Poirier, who did very little to justify earning $2.5 million guaranteed this season and next. Ainge should pursue a deal for the Frenchman and Kanter (if he opts in) to open up a roster spot for the former Cs fan favorite in Baynes.
If Phoenix doesn’t bring him back to spell Deandre Ayton, perhaps a Beantown reunion could be in store.
Jae Crowder
Speaking of reunions, Jae Crowder was a valuable part of a very different era of Boston Celtics basketball–one that was somehow only one year removed from the team that Baynes played on. Crowder, of course, was a member of the team from 2014-2017 as a valuable 3-and-D component of the Isaiah Thomas years.
Crowder was packaged along with IT out of Boston, but this offseason could see the teams reunite depending on what Miami does with their trade deadline acquisition. Stylistically Crowder is a good fit in the rugged Heat culture, but he has already seen a level of success in Brad Stevens’ offense that he could exceed with new star running mates in Beantown.
Shooting just 28 percent from the 3-point line when he first arrived with the Celtics in 2014, Crowder upped that efficiency to 40 percent on five shot attempts per game in his final season in green and white.
He had yet to match that efficiency with any team until joining the Heat this past season and converting on a scorching 45 percent of his looks from beyond the arc…impressively in six shots per game.
What Miami does this offseason will largely determine where Crowder fits into their plans. With a known desire to preserve 2021 cap space, perhaps Crowder could find a longer-term commitment in the form of a full mid-level exception offer from the Celtics.
Meyers Leonard
When it comes to a player who may just have far less of a market than he could have ever hoped for, Meyers Leonard is right at the top of the list.
For Leonard, the issue was his opportunity being taken by someone else willing to fill his shoes during his absence. The previously aforementioned Jae Crowder slid into the starting power forward spot and the Miami Heat have not looked back: they’ve lost just three games during their entire postseason run (including two to the Cs).
If things don’t turn around, and the market dictates few players making more than the mid-level exception, a marriage between the 41 percent 3-point shooter and Boston seems to make plenty of sense on paper. As previously mentioned, Crowder proved to be better at the four for Miami…but can Boston provide him a smooth lineup fit at the center spot?
While not a particularly strong rebounder, Leonard would give the Cs five-out lineup versatility. Whatever defensive regression the team would see from replacing Theis on the floor with the eight-year veteran would be compensated for with his floor-spacing on the other end.
If Baynes couldn’t be had for the MLE, Leonard would be a perfect third head for the Boston Celtics center hydra.