17 Worst free agent signings in Boston Celtics history

Worst Boston Celtics free agent signing No. 7: Mark Blount

Mark Blount had a great run with the Celtics up until the 2004-05 season, when his game looked less refined and his contributions were less geared towards winning. Some blame the presence of Gary Payton, who had just come out of a toxic situation with the final season of the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal tandem.

Whatever it was, Blount didn’t make good on a six-year, $41 million contract that soon became an albatross.

Worst Boston Celtics free agent signing No. 6: Jermaine O’Neal

Before Jermaine O’Neal became a member of the Celtics, he was one of the best big men in the NBA. From his fourth season in the league until his year in Miami in 2009-10, O’Neal was a nightly double-double threat. Even after his time in Boston, O’Neal was a serviceable backup big man.

His two years in a Celtics uniform were by far his worst in his career, though. O’Neal was never a fit with the “big 3” Cs.

Worst Boston Celtics free agent signing No. 5: Stojko Vrankovic

Stojko Vrankovic was the prelude to other European big men like Dirk Nowitzki and Kristaps Porzingis, or rather, could’ve been the first in a long line of successful power forwards and pivots from across the pond.

Instead, he was one one of the reasons many scouts doubted players from Europe until the 2000s and 2010s and opted for established collegiate players instead.

Worst Boston Celtics free agent signing No. 4: Rasheed Wallace

The man they call ‘Sheed’ was a perfect complementary piece to the mid-2000s Pistons, helping Detroit win the 2003-04 championship over Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers after being traded to the Motor City at the 2004 trade deadline.

The Celtics were hoping Wallace would do the same in 2009 when the front office signed him to a three-year deal, but while they played Bryant’s Lakers again, Boston fell in seven games — before Wallace would confront the refs after Game 7 and was kicked off the team.