The Boston Celtics should strongly consider utilizing their MLE and Veteran’s Minimum contracts on low-risk, potential high-reward players.
Though the 2019-20 NBA season officially came to an end Sunday night after the Los Angeles Lakers’ drubbing over the Miami Heat in Game 6, for the Boston Celtics, the year has been over for weeks now.
Because of this, one could certainly argue that Danny Ainge and co. have had a head start on their offseason plans over these other two top-billed teams heading into 2020-21, which will come in handy when shelling out cash this offseason.
It’s a well-documented fact that the shamrocks are lacking tremendously in salary-cap flexibility and, thus, will need to utilize their Mid-Level Exception and Veteran’s Minimums if they wish to be semi-active during this year’s free-agency period.
While the team does have the ability to bring on cost-efficient talent via the NBA Draft, as they hold 3 first-round selections, they’ll likely want to add some already-established ballers to their roster that was a mere two wins away from reaching the Finals.
Over the past several months, we’ve discussed players in which we believe the Cs should strongly consider targeting during the offseason to aid in their quest for championship No. 18. That said, a few of them could theoretically be seen as “wild card” signings, as a franchise might not necessarily know what version of the player they’d be signing — a prime example of such a player that we’ve mentioned would be Rajon Rondo.
Today, however, we present to you 3 players the Celtics could pursue that we believe to be potential low-risk, solid-reward values:
Low-risk Boston Celtics target No. 1) Yogi Fearrell
Though he was a high-profile college hooper during his four-year stay with the Indiana Hoosiers, it has been an uphill battle for Yogi Ferrell ever since he set his sights on an NBA career back in 2016.
Going undrafted, the undersized point guard found his way onto the Summer League squad for the Brooklyn Nets, where he managed to play his way towards a preseason contract with the team.
Since then, Ferrell has bounced around from the G-League to the Dallas Mavericks — where he found his most success to date — and, most recently, the Sacramento Kings.
Despite his movement, the 27-year-old has proven to be a viable offensive option off the pine when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, with the Sacramento Kings, he eventually found himself buried in the rotation behind the likes of De’Aaron Fox and backup point guard Cory Joseph.
Despite this, however, per 36 minutes he still saw averages of 14.8 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in 2019-20. For his career, Ferrell has posted sound averages of 7.8 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.1 rebounds a game on 37 percent shooting from deep.
Being that the scoring punch off the bench for the Boston Celtics could use any help they can possibly get — ranked 29th in points per game (28.5), and 20th in offensive rating (53.6) — taking a swing at Yogi Ferrell would be a low-risk chance worth taking.
Low-risk Boston Celtics target No. 2) Bryn Foarbes
As we said in the previous slide, the scoring punch off the pine for the Boston Celtics was abysmal throughout the 2019-20 season. Perhaps the biggest struggle they had in this area was their long-range scoring, where they wound up ranking 28th in regard to 3-point percentage (31.8) and dead-last in 3-pointers made (2.4) per game.
These offensive struggles seeped right into the postseason, as they ranked 14th in points per game (18.2) and last in offensive rating (39.6).
A point of focus heading into this offseason should deservedly be on addressing the team’s weak secondary scoring prowess, and they should look to any efficient shooter as a viable option to add to the roster.
Though he may not be one of the “sexiest” names on the open market, San Antonio Spurs marksman Bryn Forbes could be a realistic and intriguing option for the shamrocks to consider.
Finishing his fourth season in the league — all with the Spurs — the 26-year-old wing posted impressive averages of 11.2 points, and two boards per game on 39 percent shooting from deep.
For his career, he averages 8.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on 40 percent shooting from downtown while attempting 4.1 attempts per game.
Adding him as a floor-spacing weapon in drive-and-kick scenarios could lead to great success for the shamrocks moving forward.
Low-risk Boston Celtics target No. 3) Aaron Baynes
The idea of a reunion between the Boston Celtics and Aron Baynes is not just one we’ve concocted ourselves. In fact, Bleacher Report went as far as to say the eighth-year center is the best free agent the shamrocks can realistically sign this upcoming offseason.
"Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter and Robert Williams III formed a workable center rotation for most of the season, but Boston’s inability to throw length and strength at Bam Adebayo in the Eastern Conference Finals proved a fatal flaw. The Shamrocks could see that missing muscle in a familiar face: Aron Baynes, who played the past two seasons with the franchise and remains a fan from afar. Adding a three-ball to his arsenal powered him to a career-best 18.5 points per 36 minutes, and it means he wouldn’t gunk up the offensive spacing upon a return to the Northeast. Baynes isn’t the sexiest name on the market—Jakob Poeltl and Chris Boucher might be more intriguing ways to address the interior void—but the C’s have all the sizzle they need in Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Supporting those stars with a blue-collar bruiser could quietly be a best-case scenario for the offseason."
In short, we agree with their reasoning as to why Baynes back in Beantown makes sense. his consistent stroke from long range, rebounding prowess, and physical stature make the Australian-born baller a much more menacing matchup against the likes of the Bam Adebayo’s and Joel Embiid’s of the Eastern Conference than current starter Daniel Theis.
In large based on his career-best year in 2019-20 and his familiarity within Brad Stevens’ system, if ever there were an ideal low-risk, high-reward signing this offseason, it would be Baynes.