3 early in-season buyout candidates the Boston Celtics could pursue

Boston Celtics buyout target No. 3) Kevin Love

Despite the fact that he may have had somewhat of a resurgence year in 2021-22, it still doesn’t take away from the fact that, at 33-year-old, Kevin Love is a past-his-prime former All-Star who will be making a whopping $30.1 million during his final year under contract.

Essentially, for an up-and-coming young squad like the Cleveland Cavaliers who are flush with frontcourt talents in need of playing time (Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Lauri Markkanen) what this all means is that they should strongly consider parting ways with the big man, even if it means only saving on a fraction of the worth of his deal, as it could make re-signing Collin Sexton that much easier.

Now we understand that the Boston Celtics have already gone about and addressed their power forward depth this offseason what with the signing of Danilo Gallinari, but a guy like Love can be slotted in at either the four or the five, meaning that the two likely could still find ample playing time within the rotation, while their games could even wind up complimenting each other beautifully.

On top of all this, the veteran brings on some incredibly valuable championship-round experience, as he’s partaken in three trips to the NBA Finals throughout his career and went on to win a title back in 2016.

As the years have gone by, Kevin Love’s game may have diminished a bit (though he still has managed to average 14.8 points, 8.2 boards, and 2.6 assists on 38 percent shooting from deep since 2019), but his leadership skills have only strengthened, as he was a major influence on last year’s overachieving Cavs team.

Is he that coveted third-star or even that athletic, rim-running/ rim-protecting specimen to have on the bench backing up the likes of Robert Williams? No.

That said, a reliable floor-spacing and board-gobbling veteran with a proven track record of succeeding at a high level in this league wouldn’t be too shabby of a pickup off the buyout market either.