3 ideal buyout options the Boston Celtics must pursue
By Mark Nilon
This year’s NBA Trade Deadline came and went this past Thursday and, though this time over the last few years has been rather silent for the likes of the Boston Celtics, 2022 proved to be anything but.
No, Brad Stevens and co. did not strike on that always hoped for blockbuster to land the C’s a third star, but they did ultimately manage to make small yet impactful moves to get the team’s salary cap under control, improve some weaknesses found within the rotation, and, most importantly, surround franchise centerpieces, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with better-fitting complementary talents.
Now, with the trade festivities found in the rearview, front offices will start to gear up for the next rather exciting time for transactions on the season — the buyout period.
Though we at HH are indeed happy with how the deadline played out for the Boston Celtics, it’s undeniable that there are still some obvious weaknesses present within the team’s rotation that still must be addressed and a proper way of looking for a few more mid-season answers would be to look to the slew of recently/ soon to be available players found on the open market.
Should Stevens be interested in strongly pursuing extra talents on the buy-out market (he should be), we believe there are 3 ideal options he should consider:
Boston Celtics buyout option No.1) D.J. Augustin
The Boston Celtics parted ways with several players at this years deadline, including their 2021 free agency steal and highly utalized guard, Dennis Schroder, who was sent to the Houston Rockets in the Daniel Theis reunion trade.
Though they may have been able to snatch up a quality replacement backcourt talent in Derrick White via their seperate San Antonio Spurs deal, the C’s should still be interested in bringing on another player who can help replace Schroder’s scoring and facilitation abilities, and D.J. Augustin could be a trusty option to consider pursuing.
Despite being up there in age (34-years-old), the point guard has still proven capable of providing solid contributions for an NBA ball club over these past few seasons, including this one despite only seeing 15 minutes of action per night for the Rockets.
Per 75 possessions in 2021-22, Augustin finds himself boasting impressive averages of 12.7 points and 5.2 assists on 41 percent shooting from deep.
Proving to be a crafty offensive guard throughout his 14-year career, the veteran could come in an serve as a much-needed spark-plug off the pine to help boost Boston’s putrid second-unit offense that ranks 26th in points per game, 26th in field goal percentage, and next to dead last in offensive rating.
Unless Ime Udoka is planning to increase second-year guard, Payton Pritchard’s role within the rotation (which we wouldn’t be opposed to in the slightest), targeting a seasoned backup guard could prove to be a fine move to make, and we believe D.J. Augustin should be strongly considered.