As long as Joe Mazzulla has been the coach of the Celtics, the team has been associated with pace and space, shooting threes, and playing guys who can stretch the floor. Five-out spacing was a big part of the championship run, and between Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, Boston had always had a deadly shooter at the center position.
That changed last year to an extent, as Luka Garza did his best to fill the void and did shoot a very high percentage, but his defense made him a liability who lost his spot in the playoffs. Nikola Vucevic was brought in to soak up that role, but he proved to be largely unplayable as well.
There was a thought that the Celtics may go out and try to rectify that in the offseason, but instead their big splash was signing another non-shooting big in Mitchell Robinson to chew up most of the center minutes along with Neemias Queta. Garza is still in the fold as the third center, and they may tinker with some small-ball looks, but for the most part, Boston isn’t going to play five-out next season.
NBA lacking available three-point shooting centers
Part of that is because, as much as they love the spacing, the Celtics also love dominant rebounding and screen-setting, which Robinson brings in spades. But another part was simply dictated by the market. The fact is, there really aren’t many impactful stretch bigs floating around the league, especially ones who can actually hold their own on the defensive end.
It’s a very short list, and most of those guys aren’t available, or they cost a fortune. The Celtics clearly wanted to address their center position and did so by signing the best free agent on the market. In a dream world, would Robinson be a three-point shooter? Of course. But if that was the case, he probably wouldn’t have been available in free agency, let alone for the mid-level exception.
Celtics would likely still covet a stretch-big
I don’t think there has been some big organizational shift away from big men who can shoot or anything like that. I just believe that the Celtics believe their style is versatile and they can create advantages in a lot of ways. If a shooting big man becomes available, and they decide that would improve the team, they’re still likely to make that move.
I also think Queta and Robinson are on very movable contracts, and if the fit isn’t ideal this year, one of them could be gone a year from now. There’s also a chance it goes swimmingly, and the Celtics are set at center for the next few years.
Either way, I wouldn’t read too much into any of the moves, except to say that Boston is trying to get the most value out of their roster given what’s available to them and what they have to work with. And if it’s not good enough, more changes will be made in the near future.
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