When it comes to a team like the Boston Celtics, seemingly every year fans and media alike expect big things.
Heading into this past campaign, what with the fact that they were coming off of their third Eastern Conference Finals appearance in four seasons and rostered arguably the best wing-duo in the entire association with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, these lofty expectations were once again the talk of the town.
In the end, however, said expectations were not met.
Chalk it up to injuries, COVID-19, or simply the truncated 72 game schedule, the C’s 2020-21 run was an absolute letdown that ended with their worst regular-season finish since 2014-15 and their first Quarterfinals loss since 2015-16.
Now, as we find ourselves in the midst of the 2021 NBA offseason, the team’s front office has seemingly been working tirelessly to try and make up for their lowly season turnout and push themselves back up the leaderboard in the Eastern Conference.
From moves like re-acquiring veteran center Al Horford to the recent signing of Dennis Schroder, the Celtics have been quite active when it comes to their offseason transactions and, with a little over two months still remaining between now and the tip-off to 2021-22, one should expect Brad Stevens and co. to continue making acquisitions.
Despite the fact that the shamrocks are now over two months into their summer vacation, the moratorium for the team to look into signing free agents is only on week two.
Because of this, though perhaps the top-billed talents in this year’s class may already be swiped up by other franchises, there are still some players that could be brought aboard that could be of some use to this team next season.
In fact, of the remaining players found on the free agency market, there are 3, in specific, that have direct connections to the Boston Celtics and who we believe would be solid additions to the squad:
Free-agent with connection to the Boston Celtics No. 1) Mike James
The Boston Celtics are a team that need more scoring options coming off the pine as well as more talents to potentially use at the point guard position.
Mike James could wind up providing both for the franchise should he be signed.
Coming back to the NBA after a two-year hiatus whilst playing with CSKA Moscow (averaged 19.1 points and 4.8 assists on 39 percent shooting from deep during his stint overseas), the point guard carved out a nice role for himself with the Brooklyn Nets — current Cs head coach, Ime Udoka’s former team — this past season.
In 13 regular-season outings with the franchise, James posted averages of 7.7 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game on 35.5 percent shooting from deep and, during his lone start, logged 12 points, five assists, and two boards on 42 percent shooting from the floor and 67 percent shooting from deep.
Though perhaps not the fireworks-inducing grab that fans may wish to see, taking a cheap flier on Mike James could prove to be a low-risk, sound reward transaction worth considering.