The Boston Celtics must reset their depth chart at center. They lost Luke Kornet to the San Antonio Spurs. After a career year, Kornet's cashing in to the tune of $41 million over four years. Al Horford could soon head elsewhere, too.
As Boston searches for new additions to play the pivot, the franchise's lack of flexibility steers the organization toward investing in upside at a relatively low cost.
On the heels of losing Kornet, the Celtics signed Luka Garza to a two-year, $5.5 million deal.
As they weigh their free-agent options at center, there's a new name to add to the list. The Houston Rockets are waiving Jock Landale, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
Should the Celtics take a flyer on Landale?
Charania also noted that this decision comes ahead of the Jul. 7 guarantee date on the 29-year-old's contract. The expectation is for the four-year veteran to clear waivers and then sign with his preferred landing spot.
Perhaps that's Boston. Landale spent the last two seasons in Houston. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in the 2024-25 campaign. That production came while logging 11.9 minutes of floor time across 42 games.
He also made 42.3 percent of his threes. However, that was on just 0.6 attempts per contest. For his career, Landale is launching 1.1 shots from behind the arc and converting them at a 29.7 percent clip.
Still, he'd give the Celtics an athletic option at center who can run the floor and join their transition attack. In that sense, he matches their desire to play at a faster pace.
Boston's carrying 15 players. That's not an issue at the moment. However, it is the regular season maximum. The roster reshuffling will continue. But any addition now must include a subtraction from the team by opening night.
The 18-time NBA champions have also gone back over the second apron. That's a result of agreed-upon deals with Garza and Josh Minnot. It is the clearest sign that more moves are to come.
As a low-cost option, if the Celtics want to sign Landale, their circumstances shouldn't prohibit them. They already need to dip below the second apron again. That requires more departures. It's also not the time to worry about adding a 16th team member.
The question is whether Boston sheds enough salary to dip under the luxury tax. The organization is $20.3 million over that threshold. That's working off the franchise's reported maneuvering. Not all of those transactions are official.
As the Celtics continue to navigate this punitive collective bargaining agreement and try to trim their payroll, there's also an intriguing potential addition to consider.
Could Dame Time be coming to Boston?