“Pass or Pursue” on 2 recently listed Boston Celtics buyout options
By Mark Nilon
Potential Boston Celtics buyout option No. 1) Semi Ojeleye
After having parted ways with both Romeo Langford and, more importantly, Josh Richardson at this year’s deadline, the Boston Celtics are presumably interested in bolstering the depth at the wing and forward positions with their vacant roster spots.
Though there aren’t slated to be many high profile players hitting the open market via buyout like we’ve seen in years past, there are quite a few talents that could prove to be intriguing options for Stevens to consider pursuing if they wind up parting ways with their respective teams, and one player who Hoops Habit writer, Jack Duggan, believes should be on the C’s radar is a familiar face in Semi Ojeleye.
After having spent the first four years of his career in green and white, this past offseason the former second-round selection wound up signing on with the defending champions, the Milwaukee Bucks, where he’d play in just 20 games before being sent packing at the deadline to the Los Angeles Clippers.
While there are quite a number of people who believe that LA could ultimately opt to keep the forward in tow for the duration of the season, Duggan made the observation that the position on the roster is, in fact, rather stacked with the likes of Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Terrence Mann, Robert Covington, and even Brandon Boston Jr all ahead of him in the pecking order.
Because of this, it shouldn’t shock anyone in the slightest if the Clippers decide to cut ties with Ojeleye and, if this were to happen, Duggan believes that Boston would “clearly be the natural fit to sign him”:
"Brad Stevens has already proven to have an interest in bringing back players that he coached in previous years (Al Horford and Daniel Theis for example). Ojeleye might not be the piece that completes the puzzle in Boston, but bringing in the former Celtic to bolster their defense would be a low-risk move with potential upside. In previous playoff runs, Ojeleye helped the Celtics with his incredible strength and quality interior defense. While he isn’t a defensive stopper, he is a strong wing that the Celtics could deploy against some of the opposing stars in the East such as Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant."
Now, by all accounts Duggan does has some pretty solid points, particularly when it comes to Semi Ojeleye’s familiarity with the Boston Celtics coupled with his well-documented defensive chops.
That said, while these attributes could indeed be viewed as beneficial, when it comes to the team’s main needs we would argue that the wing does not actually check the desired boxes.
All season long, Boston has proven to be one of the most menacing defensive forces in the entire league and, since November 1st, they have been the top team in terms of defensive rating so, though adding on more talents with a proven track record on the less glamorous side of the ball couldn’t hurt, it’s really not all that needed.
Instead, what the front office should be looking to add is someone who could help, not necessarily on the defensive side, but on the offensive side of the ball as well where, though they’ve gotten better over the past few months, still should be looking to improve their overall play, particularly from beyond the arc.
Semi Ojeleye is many things, but he is not someone who will have all that much of an impact on a team’s offensive efficiency and production which, in turn, makes us believe that perhaps Stevens and co. should be looking elsewhere.