When they traded away Kemba Walker, the Boston Celtics gave up their starting point guard. Even if Marcus Smart is able to take over that role, it still leaves them with some holes within the guard rotation.
Evan Fournier and Romeo Langford can hold down the shooting guard position fairly well. The same can potentially be said for Smart and Payton Pritchard.
However, after that, they have no other playable guards in the rotation. Carsen Edwards could be back, but he has not shown the ability to be a real NBA contributor.
Jay King of The Athletic recently wrote an article listing five guards the Boston Celtics should target in free agency. He based his list on BORD$ ratings, which was created by John Hollinger and is essentially just a formula that calculates a free agents’ worth.
Boston Celtics point guard option: TJ McConnell
According to his BORD$ rating, McConnell is worth around $12 million. The Boston Celtics don’t have that kind of money to spend, but King believes McConnell might sign for less.
McConnell is the perfect kind of player for the Boston Celtics to sign this offseason. He led the league in total steals last year and is an elite playmaker.
He would be able to teach Payton Pritchard a lot, while also contributing backup guard minutes. Boston would instantly fall in love with his scrappiness and energy.
The Indiana Pacers will likely do everything they can to keep McConnell around. However, the Boston Celtics should certainly try to throw their hat in that race.