Boston Celtics: “Pass or Pursue” on 5 recently rumored TPE targets
By Mark Nilon
Through 20 games played, the Boston Celtics find themselves boasting an 11-9 record, good for fourth-best in the Eastern Conference standings and ninth-best in the entire association.
Two of their top players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have had career seasons, which have now translated into 1.4 million All-Star votes combine and, just recently, their franchise point guard, Kemba Walker, made his way back to the court after rehabbing from an offseason knee procedure.
However, despite all these positives, it still appears as though Boston needs to make some adjustments to their rotation if they wish to combat the star power that title-contending foes like the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets possess.
The Boston Celtics must utilize their $28.5M TPE this season
One way the Houdini hopes the team goes about bolstering their roster is by utilizing their historically high Traded Player Exception of $28.5 million.
Recently, General Manager Danny Ainge brought to light his desire to add “shooters with size” which, of course, sent the media on a mission to pinpoint specific players around the league that would both qualify for such a description and who’s contracts would be attainable with the C’s TPE.
In response, CBS Sports writer, Jack Maloney published a piece discussing 5 specific players that he believes would be realistic and beneficial talents to pursue by such means.
With this, it sparked the desire for us at the HH to push out yet another installment of our favorite series we call “Pass or Pursue”, where we discuss whether or not the Boston Celtics should sit out on talks for a specific player, or if they should actively try to acquire them.
So, without further adieu, let’s get started:
Proposed TPE target for Boston Celtics No. 1) Harrison Barnes
To start of his list, Maloney proposed the idea of the Boston Celtics pursuing the likes of ninth-year-veteran, Harrison Barnes.
Currently in his second full season with the Sacramento Kings, the 28-year-old is finding himself averaging 17.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on 49.8 percent shooting from the field and 41.3 percent shooting from deep.
Having averaged at least 14.5 points per game over the past four straight seasons, one would likely assume that we at HH believe that he’d be a sound addition to Boston’s second unit that has struggled to generate points over the past two seasons.
That said, while Barnes might be seen as a suitable filler off the bench, or perhaps even in a starting role if need be, there are likely better options to be found out as we get closer to the March 25th deadline in terms of addressing a position that is in more need of bolstering as well as someone who, frankly, is just more talented for around the same price.
If it came down to utilizing the TPE on Harrison Barnes or, simply, standing pat, we believe the Cs should simply take the latter option, especially considering the fact that he’s still under contract for another two seasons at an average of around $19 million a year.