The Boston Celtics have a new big man in Kristaps Porzingis, and the Latvian unicorn is going to bring a lot to the Celtics on the court. He is an elite rim protector, a smooth shooter, and so on and so forth. He would have been a deserving All-Star last season.
Could Porzingis also bring something other than his basketball skills? Namely, his connections to former teammates. Which players with connections to Porzingis could be targets on the free agent market for the Celtics? Let’s break down some options from every position.
Celtics Free Agent Target No. 7: Robin Lopez, Center
When Kristaps Porzingis was drafted fourth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, he was immediately entrenched as a starter at power forward. The burly center who started 82 games for the New York Knicks that season was Robin Lopez, who took on the dirty work as Porzingis adjusted to the NBA game.
That was eight seasons ago, and Lopez has descended from starter to reserve, although he has lost none of his rebounding heft or his patented from-the-floor scoop shot. The Celtics could do worse replacing Blake Griffin with a big who can actually battle with the likes of Joel Embiid inside; he’s no one’s idea of a massive addition, but he is still a useful guy to have on the roster.