Considering the fact that they fell two wins shy of winning this year’s NBA Finals, it’s evident that the Boston Celtics, despite their bevy of accomplishments throughout 2021-22, still have some work to do moving forward in order to hoist themselves over the proverbial hump and finally bring banner No. 18 to eastern Massachusetts.
Though there’s a lot to like about this team moving forward, such as their two star players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Ime Udoka leading the charge as head coach, and their stout defensive abilities, there are several aspects of the C’s game that could certainly use for some fine-tuning.
Just recently, President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens, discussed with NBA Sports Boston some of the areas that he believes must be addressed this offseason, and one of the first things he mentioned was that Boston could use for an extra scoring punch within their arsenal, particularly coming off the pine:
"“If you ask me right now what we need, I’d like to have a little bit more scoring, consistent scoring off the bench.”"
Now, Stevens did go on to mention that he believes there are a few players on their roster that could wind up developing into the type of scoring threats he believes the Celtics need, but, subsequently, he stated that the front office will also be looking into options that they can potentially snag via the draft, free agency, and, of course, their numerous TPEs to address this dilemma.
We at HH are big believers in the premise that Boston’s decision-makers should be highly interested in scouring all avenues this summer to try and add on some extra scoring punches to have within their second unit come the start of 2022-23 and, with this, we think that there are 3 players, in particular, that should on their radar:
Boston Celtics target No. 1) Alec Burks
A player we at the Houdini have been high on for quite some time now when it comes to being a target for the Boston Celtics, the addition of Alec Burks could help the team’s rotation in a multitude of ways, but especially from an offensive standpoint.
Making a name for himself throughout his career as being an efficient sparkplug off the bench, the 11-year veteran has proven to be a reliable facilitator/ ball-handler, fantastic catch-and-shoot talent (shot an effective field goal percentage of 61 in 2021-22), an underrated isolation scorer, and even a quality defensive contributor with his 6-6 frame and 6-10 wingspan.
Over the last three seasons whilst predominantly coming off the bench, Burks has been posting impressive averages of 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 40 percent shooting from distance while seeing scoring numbers as high as 16.1 per night during his stint with the Golden State Warriors along the way.
When in possession of the ball the wing is crafty enough to create separation with his handles to get a clean look and quick enough to get by his defender and beam towards the basket while his shot is trusty enough (career 38 percent shooter from deep) to thrive in the team’s high-octane 3-point shooting offensive scheme.
With the use of the Evan Fournier TPE, acquiring Alec Burks would likely be an incredibly simple task to accomplish while he could wind up proving to be exactly the kind of addition that this team’s second unit needs.
Boston Celtics target No. 2) T.J. Warren
A player that has been often found linked as being one of, if not the best bargain targets for the Boston Celtics heading into the 2022 free agency period, T.J. Warren is someone who could make a ton of sense for Brad Stevens and co. to strike a deal with.
With the fact that the C’s payroll is overwhelmingly inflated with several high-cost contracts already in tow, should the front office look to make moves on the free agency market they’re likely going to have to get creative with their signings, be it by means of snagging title-hungry veterans with the selling point of them finally being able to attain that highly coveted ring (more on that later) or pursuing players with some red flags attached to their names.
Warren certainly fits this latter bill, as he has only played a whopping four games since the conclusion of the 2019-20 season due to stress fractures in his left foot.
Now, of course, being that the Celtics are cash-strapped, his recent health ailments and time off the floor may not be enough for them to shy away from making a pursuit for, the last time he was actually healthy, the forward proved to be an absolute problem for opposing defenses.
Over the three seasons prior to going down with his foot injury, Warren saw himself putting up sensational averages of 19.3 points and 4.5 rebounds on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from deep.
From his ability to move without the ball and find his way into open spots for scoring scenarios to his impressive handles for someone of his size coupled with his strength, agility, and ability to hit tough shots, taking a chance on someone like T.J. Warren could prove to be the type of risk/ reward move Boston should be interested in taking for their bench unit.
A 3-and-D player with high upside to help bolster the depth out on the wing is exactly what this Celtics team needs.
Sign me up!
Boston Celtics target No. 3) Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony has put together a Hall of Fame career for himself by being a phenomenal scorer in the NBA. In fact, the 75th Anniversary member currently finds himself placed ninth on the league’s All-Time scoring list.
If the Boston Celtics want to bring on a consistent scoring option this offseason, they should strongly consider the possibility of pursuing someone of his pedigree on the open market.
Since making his comeback in the association back in 2019-20 after a brief stint of unemployment, Melo has found himself simply relishing as a role player predominantly coming off the bench, boasting per game averages of 14 points and 4.4 boards on 43 percent shooting from the floor and 39 percent shooting from deep.
Even this past season, while he may not have managed to help the dysfunctional Los Angeles Lakers claw themselves out of mediocrity with his production, he still went on to post an impressive stat line of 13.3 points and 4.2 boards on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 37.5 percent shooting from distance.
He still consistently showcased his ability to create for himself from virtually everywhere on the hardwood and even managed to boast a respectable 55.3 effective field goal percentage in catch and shoot scenarios.
If we learned anything from this year’s NBA Finals appearance, it’s that the Boston Celtics seriously need someone outside of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who can step up at a consistent rate a buy a bucket.
Carmelo Anthony is literally that type of player and, considering his skill set coupled with his specific size, Ime Udoka could easily find ways to slot him into the rotation, be it at the three to allow either one of the Jays to rest up on the bench, or at the four (a position he’s frequently played some of his best ball at) to allow an offensive-heavy lineup with him, Tatum, Brown, and, say, Al Horford.
At a likely cost of a mere veteran’s minimum or MLE, even with his ripe age of 38 and defensive deficiencies (something we strongly believe Boston could cover up due to their current cast of juggernauts on this end of the floor), the Celtics should strongly consider Melo as an offseason free-agent target.