Boston Celtics: 3 free agent steals Cs MUST pursue

Free-Agent Steal for Boston Celtics No. 2) Serge Ibaka

We constantly link Serge Ibaka to the Boston Celtics in hopes he doesn’t get a whopper of an offer from either the incumbent Toronto Raptors or another team in free agency. The fit of Ibaka in Beantown is a smooth one.

With Daniel Theis thriving as an undersized pivot in Boston, Ibaka figures to be an even more lethal floor-spacing shot-blocker. His 38.5 percent shooting outpaced Theis’ 33 percent clip in 2019-20, and Ibaka has more touch in the mid-range.

It’s not hard to imagine Ibaka knocking down elbow jumpers off the pick-and-pop with Kemba Walker and even Jayson Tatum, and his athleticism is still evident at age 31. For the mid-level exception, he would be a serious steal for the Celtics.

Again, it will come down to what the market dictates for Ibaka. A long-term deal seems unlikely, though you get a weird feeling from a team like the New York Knicks, who with Tom Thibadeau at the helm, seem like an intriguing fit.

Other tax-payers will be interested, but Boston is as close to contention as any of them, including the Golden State Warriors. Just hope that Ibaka isn’t blown away, because, like Gallinari, prioritizing a title could lead him to green and white.