Left just short of contention at the conclusion of the 2019-20 campaign, the Boston Celtics find themselves in a similar position to last year. Could they once again consider these 2 veteran centers?
Somehow, an entire 2019-20 season spanning a calendar year has come and gone, and yet the Boston Celtics could still use another veteran big man on the roster. It was evident in the offseason when was forced to dig deep into their rotation and relied on rookie Grant Williams at the center spot for extended stretches.
Williams has proven more than capable of banging in the paint with much larger bigs at just six-foot-five, but ultimately relying on him to give you anything more than 2-3 minutes per contest as the 5 is a questionable strategy at best and a high-risk strategy at worst.
Robert Williams is starting to seem more than up to the task of playing in big spots opposite the likes of Bam Adebayo, Serge Ibaka, and Marc Gasol–as he showed in the 2020 postseason, emanating from the Lake Buena Vista bubble on Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports complex. That said, his injury woes are well documented…he missed 43 games last season and sat out 50 games in his 2018-19 rookie year.
Enes Kanter seems likely to test the free-agent market, and if the current rumors hold, Vincent Poirier looks poised to be dealt in what could be his final season in the NBA unless he undergoes a sophomore year transformation into an impact player.
Behind Daniel Theis, there is room for a sure thing. Luckily, there will be plenty of veterans to be had for a minimum salary…which is all the Boston Celtics possess beyond the mid-level exception.
Interestingly enough, the Houdini had these two free-agent center targets in mind last year as well. Given the team’s similar roster needs, here’s why we still believe they should be on the C’s radar:
Robin Lopez
My co-editor Mark Nilon wrote about Robin Lopez being a target for the Boston Celtics last July. Here’s his rationale from then:
"With the very likely outcome of both Kyrie Irving and Al Horford seeking new homes this summer, the Celtics should have enough cap room to offered the services of the 29-year-old guard. However, if Walker does end up signing with Boston, the team would have a limited amount of cash left to fill out other roster necessities. Because of this, the franchise will need to look for players willing to take on minimum/ close-to minimum contracts. If the team does, in fact, find themselves in this position, one free agent in particular should be at the top of their offseason “wish list”: Robin Lopez. Though a Walker signing would certainly take care of any problems linked to the one spot, a void would still remain at the five. That is, unless they can bring in “Ro Lo”. Make no mistake about it, Robin Lopez is by no means as good of a player as Horford. But with all the mouths to feed in Boston, he could turn out to be an even better fit for the team moving forward."
Kyrie Irving and Al Horford did end up leaving, and Kemba Walker did make his way to town. Lopez did not join him last year, though, instead joining his brother Brook Lopez in Milwaukee with the Bucks. That team is likely to see large-scale changes, and Lopez could find his way back on the market if Milwaukee uses his $5 million salary in a deal to a team that doesn’t plan on using him for purposes other than salary filler.
It makes sense now just as it did then to pursue Lopez.
DeMarcus Cousins
Another name that was thrown around last summer was DeMarcus Cousins. While Danny Ainge didn’t want to add such a big personality to a team that was in a growth phase, the team has had a sufficient amount of growth to facilitate adding a win-now gamble like “Boogie”.
Things were different around this time last year regarding Cousins’ free agency. He has since had a torn ACL completely wipe out his 2019-20 season. The team that signed him–the Los Angeles Lakers–won a championship after replacing him with Dwight Howard. Howard turned out to play the “Tyson Chandler role” Kobe Bryant wanted him to serve in back in 2013, but this time it was alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis instead of Bryant and Paul Gasol.
This was my take in May 2019:
"Cousins is still 28 years old and can conceivably have a few elite years left if he can recover from injury. He should still be considered a splash, and his level of play would help give the Celtics an identity alongside the rugged play of Marcus Smart."
He is 29 years old now, and he didn’t quite recover from the Achilles injury he suffered in 2018. Two straight years of debilitating injuries mean Cousins might not have the most robust market this offseason…making a potential path to Beantown plausible.
Perhaps a prove-it deal like Howard signed in lieu of his own injury last summer could be what brings Cousins aboard. The Boston Celtics need to focus on combatting the elite big men of the Eastern Conference, and Cousins would be quite the weapon to deploy situationally against the Bam Adebayo type obstacles the Cs may face in the playoffs.