Boston Celtics: 3 role players Cs could poach from Atlantic Division

The Boston Celtics will finish the 2021-22 season as the top team in the Atlantic Division.

Not many projected them to finish there. It was supposed to be the Brooklyn Nets’ star trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden that lorded over the Atlantic. Plans changed when Durant injured the MCL in his left knee, Irving was deemed ineligible to play in the team’s home games, and the latter fact frustrating Harden to the point of forcing a trade.

The Philadelphia 76ers now have Harden, and he and Joel Embiid (and co.) look formidable. They could be a first-round out, though, because if the season ended today, the surprise upstart Toronto Raptors–fresh off of losing longtime veteran floor general Kyle Lowry, mind you–would be their Eastern Conference quarterfinals opponent.

Then, there’s the lowly NY Knicks. New York had one season of not being sad in 2020-21, and it happened to happen in front of fewer fans than ever before due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a flash in the pan, and now the Knicks are back at the Atlantic Division basement.

Boston looks to be in the best shape of any team in their division, and could be the team free agents flock to in the offseason.

Here are 3 role players the Cs should poach from their Atlantic Division rivals:

Role player #1 the Boston Celtics should poach from an Atlantic Division rival: Patty Mills, Brooklyn Nets

What Brooklyn Nets free agents were expecting from the 2021-22 campaign before it began was not what they ended up getting. A surefire contender was revealed to be a top-loaded fraud that couldn’t weather the storm if a star was out.

Patty Mills has seen his role decrease throughout the year and has a connection with Cs head coach Ime Udoka from their San Antonio Spurs days together. The grass most certainly must look greener for Mills right now on an NBA Play-in team that faces the daily scrutiny of an actual contender.