For the first time in what felt like forever, there was actually some Boston Celtics news on Tuesday night. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Cs had their eye on a pair of wings to fill out the back end of their rotation.
The Celtics are meeting with forwards T.J. Warren and Lamar Stevens for a potential roster spot, sources tell @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/nIImbrkiLs
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) August 23, 2023
According to Charania, Boston will meet with both T.J. Warren and Lamar Stevens this week.
On top of Warren and Stevens, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto revealed that Louis King is also in the mix for one of the team’s two remaining roster spots.
“Free agent forward Louis King will meet and work out for the Boston Celtics this week, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto said in a tweet. “King recently worked out with other veterans for the Golden State Warriors. Last season, King was a two-way player for the Philadelphia 76ers.”
Free agent forward Louis King will meet and work out for the Boston Celtics this week, league sources told @hoopshype. King recently worked out with other veterans for the Golden State Warriors. Last season, King was a two-way player for the Philadelphia 76ers.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) August 23, 2023
Boston has been sitting on the pair of roster spots for a good amount of time now. They waived forward Justin Champagnie at the beginning of the month, and haven’t made any moves since. However, it’s been reported that they’d like to bring back veteran big man Blake Griffin in one of their remaining slots.
With all of the moving parts this summer, many fans have wondered what President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens would add to the already-competitive Celtics roster. Well, it looks like they’ve got their answer — depth at the wing position. All three of Boston’s rumored targets can provide that, but which one would be the best addition?
Let’s have a look and rank them, shall we?
No. 3: The case for the Boston Celtics to sign Louis King
Louis King’s name is the one on the list that Celtics fans will likely be the least familiar with. He’s a 6-foot-7 forward out of Oregon and has played a total of just 27 NBA games in four seasons as a pro. The 24-year-old spent the past season on a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, but only appeared in one game at the NBA level.
He spent the majority of his time playing for Philly’s G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. King suited up in 32 games for Delaware, starting in 31 of them. He averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 46.5% from the field and 36.9% from beyond the arc.
Those numbers are pretty solid and indicate that King can do a little bit of everything. It’s all there: scoring, passing, rebounding, defense, and efficiency. It wouldn’t be the most shocking thing for the Celtics to bring him in as a project-type player.
It also should be mentioned that the Cs have one two-way contract spot remaining as well. King would be a great fit for that, as he could split time between Maine and Boston while continuing to work on his game.
However, it’s pretty unlikely that the Celtics would offer him one of the other two slots over both Warren and Stevens.
No. 2: The case for the Boston Celtics to sign T.J. Warren
The most recognizable name of the three is undoubtedly T.J. Warren. A few years back, he caught fire in the NBA bubble playoffs and turned a few heads. In the regaular season prior, he averaged just under 20 points per game for the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately for Warren, he hasn’t been able to return to that level since, mostly due to injuries.
After lighting the bubble on fire, Warren just played four games in the 2020-21 season, missed the entire 2021-22 season, then appeared in 42 games last year, split between the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.
The idea of bringing in a player like Warren, who was once a marquee scorer is appealing — make no mistake. But, he really just isn’t that guy anymore.
There’s not many more telling signs of that than the Suns gutting their roster in a trade for Bradley Beal then not electing to bring him back when they had literaly five players on the team.
Sure, there’s a chance that the 30-year-old wing has had the chance to get himself right. If that’s the case then great, the Celtics could absolutely use an extra scoring presense off of the bench, especially from the wing.
Again, that just doesn’t appear to be the case with Phoenix letting him walk away after trading for him mid-season.
No. 1: The case for the Boston Celtics to sign Lamar Stevens
Coming at the top of this list is former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lamar Stevens. Stevens finds himself without a team, after he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs and then subsequently waived this summer.
If the Celtics are looking to add some extra defense off of their bench, then they should look no further. At 6-foot-7, Stevens could serve as a versatile defender for the Cs as they continue to look to switch as much as possible.
The problem comes on the offensive end, where he is a bit more limited. In three seasons with the Cavs, Stevens averaged just 5.3 points per game. The efficiency wasn’t great either, as he knocked down 46.7% of his attempts overall and 28.1% of those from distance.
There is definitely a good amount of upside for Stevens, though. That rough shooting from long distance has been improving in each season. He shot 31.6% from three-point range this year, after making just 16.0% of his attempts as a rookie.
On top of that, defense is always a valuable skill and could very well earn Stevens minutes for Boston this season — especially after the team lost both Marcus Smart and Grant Williams this summer.
It just feels more worth it for the Celtics to bring in someone that’s at least going to bring the effort each time he gets out onto the floor.