Boston Celtics: 3 RFAs Cs should sign to offer sheet this offseason

The Boston Celtics have put themselves between a rock and a hard place financially with their free-agent signings stemming back two summers. In an attempt to rebound off losing Kyrie Irving, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and Al Horford, Danny Ainge panicked-signed Kemba Walker to more money than he was worth.

Sure, signing Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter to $5 million deals each proved to be a bargain. Still, by adding Kemba Walker’s maximum contract, Danny Ainge constricted the Boston Celtics financial flexibility so long as Walker was under warranty.

Luckily for the Cs, Brad Stevens immediately sought to rectify this mistake the moment he replaced Ainge. Stevens dealt Kemba Walker and draft capital to the OKC Thunder in exchange for Al Horford and Moses Brown.

The idea behind the trade was to free up Boston’s cap space, fortify their defense, and bring in a veteran presence to stabilize the Celtics’ young locker room. We won’t know for sure if the trade worked, but it makes perfect sense on paper.

The Boston Celtics are still in a sticky situation cap-wise, impacting their ability to make changes to their roster in free agency this season. With a potential Evan Fournier deal and Marcus Smart and Robert Williams’ extensions looming, Stevens is tight on funds this summer unless he sends out salary.

Then again, he may not be locked into any of their deals, and could find a way to pawn off their contracts to open up cap space. That way, he can find a player capable of easing the responsibilities of the Jays moving forward with room to grow…and perhaps outgrow the value of his contract.

Here are 3 potential options:

RFA #1 the Boston Celtics should pursue: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk

Last season, the Boston Celtics ranked 10th in 3PT% and 3PA in the league. A staple of Brad Stevens’ offense was the three-point line, and even with a shortage of good shooters, the Cs pushed on and kept kicking it out to whoever was spotting up.

As solid as the Celtics three-point rankings were, they did not create the optimal amount of spacing Brad Stevens wanted. The Celtics role players were not respected behind the arc, even if their percentage was good. Teams elected to eat their 3-pointers so long as Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum did not score, knowing that the rest of the group would eventually cool down.

Three-pointers are a part of the modern NBA; there’s no reason the Celtics should try to move away from three-pointers just because their current role players can’t consistently hit them. Instead of modifying the scheme, the Boston Celtics must bring in more capable shooters, but they must stay inside the NBA’s cap apron.

Enter Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, a sharpshooting guard that was just traded to the Thunder at the deadline. At 24 years old, there’s a chance Sam Presti decides to hold onto the swingman, but with multiple draft picks in one of the most stacked draft classes in recent memory, it’s likely the Thunder try to capitalize on Svi’s value.

Mykhailiuk is no Duncan Robinson, and he struggles with consistency, but there are some positives to acquiring him. For one, he would be easy to get. Brad Stevens would have to give up no more than a future second-round pick to free Svi, and they would not have to pay him any more than $2 million a season.

Secondly, Mykhailiuk could break out with the Celtics given his age and the number of open shots he would play next to Tatum and Brown. Boston is a suitable environment for Mykhailiuk to succeed, and he would not hurt the Celtics’ cap space.