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Boston Celtics: 3 big-impact, low-cost free agents Cs should pursue

By Mark Nilon

PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 07: Rudy Gay #22 of the San Antonio Spurs dribbles down the court in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers during their game at Moda Center on February 7, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 07: Rudy Gay #22 of the San Antonio Spurs dribbles down the court in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers during their game at Moda Center on February 7, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Free agency is upon us and the Boston Celtics, despite having minimal wiggle room when it comes to their cap situation, should look to be highly active.

Like last summer, the front office will likely have little more than the Mid-Level Exception to offer up to players on the open market, which means Brad Stevens and co. will need to get creative in their pursuits of available players.

What this means is, the shamrocks will almost certainly be out of the running for this year’s top-billed names such as Kawhi Leonard, Mike Conley, and DeMar DeRozan but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other big-impact talents in this class that could be snagged for a fraction of the price.

Cost-efficient deals are the way to go for the Cs, and these 3 players could prove to be quite impactful on such contracts for this ball-club in 2021-22:

(**Article scheduled at 6PM Monday night**)

High-quality, low-cost target for the Boston Celtics No. 1) Otto Porter Jr.

The Boston Celtics have struggled mightily over the past several years when it comes to offensive production off the bench.

Last season alone, the Cs constantly were caught rolling out one of the worst scoring units off the pine, as they wound up finishing the year off ranked 28th in points per game and just 23rd in offensive rating.

Sure, the recent trade that landed them Josh Richardson could help quite a bit — career averages of 12.3 points on 36 percent shooting from deep –, but his acquisition shouldn’t be the only move to address the struggles of the reserves this summer.

They could use for all-around scoring help at a team-friendly price, and Otto Porter Jr. could prove to be a solid option worth taking a swing at.

A career 10.9 point per game scorer with shooting percentages of 48 from the field and 40 from deep, the former No. 3 overall pick back in 2013 is a scoring machine when healthy which, of course is a big if.

Still, we’ve seen the rewards in which he can bring when on the court. Even this past season, we saw impressive averages of 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep prior to injuring his back in early February.

On a non-guaranteed minimum deal, taking a chance on Porter Jr. could be viewed as smart move to make for the Boston Celtics to make.