Boston Celtics: Will Jabari Parker be on the roster next season?

The Boston Celtics brought in 26-year-old Jabari Parker late in the 2020-21 campaign in an effort to boost their bench production. With roster spots being up in the air for next season, will Parker remain on the team?

Parker signed a contract worth $2.7 million concluding at the end of this upcoming season. However, that second year is non-guaranteed, meaning the Boston Celtics have the option to either keep him on the team or let him go.

This was Jabari’s fifth team in the past three seasons, as he has failed to find a home in the league since tearing his ACL twice during his time in Milwaukee. The former second overall draft pick is struggling to stay on an NBA roster, hoping to contribute in any way he can towards winning basketball.

Should the Boston Celtics look to retain Jabari Parker this offseason?

In his ten games in Celtic green, Parker averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 54.2 percent from the floor. He also saw the floor in Boston’s playoff series against Brooklyn, scoring 34 total points in 59 minutes of action.

Jabari has shown promise throughout his career as an efficient inside scorer but has never transitioned his game to behind the arc.

Since his injuries, Parker has never shot above 32.5 percent from distance on any team.

This limitation in his offensive repertoire makes it difficult to play him in any other position besides small-ball center, where he can dominate bigger defenders off the dribble.

However, his lack of defensive awareness and skill has always made it difficult for him to stay on the floor.

If the opposing team involves him in any pick-and-roll action, quicker guards have an easy time taking advantage of him off the dribble.

He showed some improvement of this previous shortcoming during his tenure in Boston, as he held up decently in one-on-one defense against Kevin Durant.

The advanced numbers love Parker’s time on the Boston Celtics, as in 124 minutes, the team had a +5.8 point differential per 100 possessions. He has always been a high usage player, but fell to only a rate of 18 percent this season, placing himself in the 68th percentile.

This suggests Parker is more of a tertiary option when both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are on the floor, and rightly so.

One of the biggest issues for the Boston Celtics in the 2020-21 season was their lack of bench points.

They attempted to address this with the deadline acquisition of Evan Fournier, but more injuries pushed him into the starting lineup in the biggest games of the year. By keeping onto Jabari, both Brad Stevens and new coach Ime Udoka would hope to have a scoring-first option off the bench to help alleviate the pressure on the team’s young stars.

Along with Semi Ojeleye, Parker’s roster spot is extremely up in the air.

Already active in the offseason with the Al Horford reunion, the Boston Celtics may opt to add more trusty veterans to the end of their bench. With this route, Jabari may be on yet another team come next season.