Boston Celtics: 4 buyout candidates Cs should consider pursuing

Boston Celtics target No. 4) DeMarcus Cousins

After the James Harden trade to the Nets, many are stating that it’s only a matter of time before we see the Houston Rockets making more moves that help either better their chances at nabbing draft assets for the future (they hold very few of their draft rights over the next several seasons) or clearing roster space to bring on players who can help them stay more competitive in the now (with their lack of draft picks, they can’t go the “tank” route like normal teams typically do).

With this, there are a few contracts that seem to be realistically buyoutable (is that even a word?), and DeMarcus Cousins certainly falls into this category.

Signing a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the franchise this offseason, cutting ties with the deal would not hold too many negative ramifications for the ballclub.

Add in the fact that Christian Wood is in the midst of a breakout campaign and plays the same position and the team could now easily find themselves with the task of wondering if they should take Boogie’s contract off the books and use his roster spot to bring on another player who better fills out the rotation.

Should this happen, the Boston Celtics should strongly consider bringing him on board and, in turn, trade away, say, Daniel Theis to help better fill out their roster in other areas.

Sure, his 2020-21 averages of 5.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game are not the most attractive, but when converting them into per-36 minutes, you see them skyrocket to 16.6 points, 15.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.8 blocks per game.

While these types of arguments involving such conversions typically rely on hypotheticals, we’ve actually seen Boogie perform at even greater heights during his impressive career, and is a mere three years removed from averaging 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game on 47 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent shooting from deep.

Yes, Cousins sustained a few serious injuries since then, including both a torn Achilles and ACL but, frankly, at a minimum deal, getting someone who at worst can bring you averages of a double-double and serve as a competent floor-spacing big is easily a move worth considering.