Brad Stevens and co. are seemingly on a mission to better bolster this Boston Celtics team from an overall standpoint in an effort to win a championship in 2022-23 after coming up just two games short of ultimate glory this past campaign.
In just about a month of official offseason action, the front office has already made two major splashes with the signing of veteran forward Danilo Gallinari and the trade that landed them point guard Malcolm Brogdon.
Both of these additions help address several areas of concern within Ime Udoka’s rotation, such as wing depth, playmaking, and, above all else, second-unit scoring.
However, though the ball club has already made some headway this summer, with ample time still separating now and October’s tip-off, one can only expect to see at least one more transaction to be made, as there are still several holes within this roster that could use for some filling.
Perhaps the biggest weak spot on the depth chart resides down low within their frontcourt for, after trading away Daniel Theis to Indiana in the exchange for Brogdon, the Boston Celtics find themselves lacking in legitimate talents to back up the likes of Al Horford and Robert Williams III.
Since Theis’ departure, fans and media pundits alike have constantly been pushing out names that are believed to be serviceable talents who can help fill out the team’s big man depth and, just recently, the folks at Bleacher Report listed a former shamrock as someone Stevens should consider pursuing via trade.
That player: Kelly Olynyk.
Citing his established knowledge of the culture of the organization, coupled with his offensive skill set, writer Zach Buckley believes that the tweener big man should be viewed as a serious option for the club, especially for their $17.1 million TPE:
"The Celtics initially snared Kelly Olynyk in a 2013 draft-night deal, and a reunion could help fill the void created when Daniel Theis was traded away.The player Olynyk is now isn’t that much different from the one Boston first rostered nearly a decade ago. In fact, his 2021-22 numbers bear a striking resemblance to his rookie production.He has his drawbacks—namely, anything related to defense—but he remains a steady source of inside-out scoring, rebounding and slick passing.With the Detroit Pistons playing the rebuilding game, an Olynyk deal should not be cost-prohibitive."
Frankly, this is not the first time that we’ve seen the 31-year-old linked as a possible option to absorb into the team’s luxurious exception and, until it’s expiration on July 18th, it likely won’t be the last.
Though there may be a few players we’d put ahead of him on a rankings list of talents the Boston Celtics should pursue in a trade, we at HH would be just fine with seeing a reunion between these two parties take place, especially if the cost was rather low like how Buckley believes it would be.