Boston Celtics vet previously ticketed for retirement an ‘obvious’ FA target

MassLive’s Brian Robb sees veteran Blake Griffin, a free agent after spending a season with the Boston Celtics in 2022-23, as an “obvious” free agent target following the front office’s decision to swap out Robert Williams in the deal that landed Jrue Holiday.

“Blake Griffin is an obvious choice that the Celtics continue to show interest in a return, now with the possibility of a bigger role,” Robb prefaced before saying, “For now, the big man remains on the sidelines ahead of training camp as he spends time with family and weighs his future per sources.”

Boston helped fill in the frontcourt’s gaps with the signing of Wenyen Gabriel on October 1 in the hours following the Holiday trade being completed — though it should be noted that the Cs only partially guaranteed his deal.

Boston Celtics ‘could hold some appeal’ in free agency to bigs

With training camp and the preseason set to expose the various poor fits around the league, free agency will kick back up ahead of the 2023-24 season. Robb doesn’t see the current crop of free agents as much of a fit with the Boston Celtics but foresees the market giving them suitable alternative options.

When those options open up, Robb believes the Celtics hold some appeal as a free-agent landing spot.

“With two open roster spots, Boston could hold some appeal for a big man looking for some opportunity off the bench with a winning team,” he wrote.

With Kristaps Porzingis’s shaky injury history and Al Horford not playing both nights of a back-to-back, there’s an opportunity to have easy looks down low opened up by the offensive attention Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday attract to themselves. There are few better destinations to rebuild one’s value than in Boston in a post-Holiday trade world.