This offseason, the Boston Celtics have been busy after finishing the regular season with the same amount of wins as losses and falling to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. They’ve revitalized their backcourt, moving on from Kemba Walker and bringing in Dennis Schroder, Josh Richardson, Kris Dunn, and Yam Madar.
In moving Walker, the Cs brought in their old friend Al Horford and thus moved Moses Brown and Tristan Thompson to avoid creating another long jam in the frontcourt as they had last season.
The only areas the Celts have been relatively inactive in are on the wings, sticking with Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, Grant Williams, and Jabari Parker to back up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
I understand and like that Stevens has stuck with Nesmith and Langford behind Brown, but given Williams and Parker’s limitations, it’s hard to argue against the Boston Celtics needing a better backup power forward for their best player. With free agency dried up, there aren’t too many choices out on the market, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any at all.
Meet Jarred Vanderbilt, a 22-year-old second-round pick who entered this summer as a restricted free agent but has yet to strike a deal with his home team, the TimberWolves.
Let’s look at what Vanderbilt provides and why the Boston Celtics should look at him in restricted free agency.
Offensive strengths/weaknesses:
Jarred Vanderbilt is a 22-year-old second-round pick from the 2018 draft that stands at six-foot-nine, and 214 lbs with a seve-foot-one wingspan and 40-inch vertical. He fell in the draft due to the raw state of his game, but three years later, Vanderbilt has seemingly begun to turn the corner with the Wolves.
Last season, Vanderbilt averaged a productive 10 points per 75 possessions on +4 rTS%. His bread and butter was finishing at the rim, hitting an astonishing 68% of his shots on six attempts per game, providing the Wolves with some efficient and aggressive pressure.
His athleticism was enhanced in pick and roll, acting as the roll man with KAT spacing the floor or even acting as a small-ball five when both Naz Reid and KAT were off the floor. Vanderbilt set hard picks and dove to the cup with pace, catching the dropped big entirely off guard and allowing his ball-handler time to either take the layup or lob it up to Vanderbilt himself.
Outside of the half-court, Vanderbilt ran the floor like a gazel, ranking 83rd percentile in transition plays last season in a dynamic Wolves offense.
Overall, Vanderbilt was an elite off-ball presence, ranking 6th in cut FREQ and averaging 4.9 offensive rebounds per 100 possessions, making himself available to his teammates and generating second-chance opportunities in the half-court. What’s most attractive about Vanderbilt is his motor.
He played his heart out for the 17 minutes he got per game. Around the rim, he wasn’t afraid to go for posters or emphatic two-handed slams, tallying 40 dunks last season. He reacted well to the Wolves’ pick and rolls he wasn’t involved in, often relocating around the perimeter then cutting accordingly to give his teammates an easy outlet.
As I said, Vanderbilt was an extremely raw prospect in the draft, but one thing that every scout noticed was his unique ability to pass the ball at his size. He hasn’t had much of a chance to sharpen that skill, but it exists and has bled through some of his film from last year.
In transition, Vanderbilt would often bring the ball up full court and initiate the offense, flashing some potential ball-handling skills for the future. When he was asked to pass the ball, Vanderbilt delivered with great speed, accuracy, and timing. He even played around with passing tactics like no-looks, opposite hand-passing, and live dribble passing.
As many compliments I could give Jarred Vanderbilt, he is far from a polished offensive product. He has no outside scoring game, shooting 20% from three, 18% from midrange last year, and 55% from the line. As far as I can tell, the lefty has no apparent hitches in his form, but he does look uncomfortable shooting the ball.
His lack of experience shooting could be the cause of this, but given how stable his form is, I imagine the Boston Celtics wouldn’t need to do much to help his accuracy.
Vanderbilt also has some finesse problems, a skill set lacking in many younger big men. When he puts the ball on the floor, the play could spiral out of control at any minute, and when he’s put in a position to utilize his non-existent layup package, he goes wild. That explains his 60% shooting mark on layups despite possessing elite size and athleticism.
As high as I am on Vanderbilt’s ability to pass the ball, he can be very indecisive when there’s too much to process. Vanderbilt maintained a 9% TOV% on his paint touches, almost 3% higher than his AST% due to his poor decision-making.
There’s talent there, but he needs more reps to hone in on it, and I could understand the Boston Celtics being hesitant to give him those reps considering they have their eyes on the title, not player development.
Defensive strengths/weaknesses:
On the flip side of the ball, Vanderbilt is nothing short of dominant and a diamond in the rough. D-LEBRON ranked him as the second-best defensive power forward in the league last year with a value of 2.44, and for a good reason. He has excellent hands, averaging 2.7 steals per 100 possessions, and is an insane shot blocker, averaging 1.9 blocks per 100 possessions.
As the drop big when defending pick and rolls, Vanderbilt does an excellent job moving his feet, reading the ball-handler, and jabbing at the ball to make a play. As a help-side rim protector, Vanderbilt’s head is always on a swivel, sniffing out drives and cuts to the rim and emphatically swatting them away.
Vanderbilt has already learned to leverage his lean frame and quick feet against opposing bigs looking to expose his skinnier frame on post-ups. He denies the ball as long as he can, then hops back behind the big posting up, then bounces back in front of them as soon as the post-entry pass is made, completely breaking up the play without outmuscling the big. In isolation, Vanderbilt is exceptional for someone his size.
He is excellent at mirroring his man and continually jabs at the ball to break up their momentum. If the opposing offensive player somehow gets to the rim, Vanderbilt has great verticality and the length to block or alter the shot.
His motor on the offensive end stretches to the defensive end, often picking up full-court and flying around the half-court to make a play on the ball. When teams try to use this energy against him in screening actions, Vanderbilt has no problem getting skinny and phasing right through the screen to keep with his man, just another tool that makes him an elite point of attack defender.
Vanderbilt’s only defensive shortcoming is widespread amongst younger bigs, foul trouble. He averaged nearly five fouls per 100 possessions with the Wolves last season, a mark that played a large part in why he couldn’t get heavy minutes on the court.
His aggression could be exposed by more intelligent players, specifically guys that know how to foul bait. If Vanderbilt wants to be more than a bench player for his career, he needs to become more disciplined on the defensive end.
I think Vanderbilt is well worth a spot on the Boston Celtics roster. He would fit well as a backup four behind Jayson Tatum, providing Ime Udoka with some energy, rim pressure, and defense off the bench.
Another reason I like Vanderbilt so much in green is that he can play beside Al Horford or Robert Williams due to his off-ball prowess, something Grant Williams and Jabari Parker don’t possess. He’s confined to a specific rotation or particular role. Whoever’s on the court, Vanderbilt can play beside.
Should the Boston Celtics pursue Jarred Vanderbilt?
The biggest dilemma that comes with bringing in Vanderbilt is there’s a chance the Boston Celtics will never have a shot at him. Despite the Wolves already possessing an abundance of power forwards, there has been no talk inkling to Vanderbilt’s departure. Minnesota seems keen on keeping the young power forward behind Jaden McDaniels and growing within his backup role.
If the Wolves decide not to offer Vanderbilt a new contract, the Boston Celtics would have to acquire him via a sign and trade, which is the nail in the coffin for any hope of Vanderbilt playing in Bean Town.
In a sign and trade, the Boston Celtics would have to offer Vanderbilt a three-year deal which completely contradicts all of their moves this summer. Now, having an asset like Vanderbilt retained for multiple years is a good thing, but considering the Cs are looking to maintain as much cap flexibility for the future, I doubt they use some cash on Vanderbilt, even though they should.
The guy is coming off a minimum deal, and likely won’t get any more than a standard rookie deal like Payton Pritchard’s or Romeo Langford’s contracts. That is a total steal and one the Boston Celtics should be eager to jump on. They wouldn’t have to give up any valuable assets in the trade since, in this case, the Wolves were not keen on extending him. Vanderbilt is worth the contract.
Get him in Boston.