By: Chuddy | 7 AM |
The Celtics made two (seemingly) minor moves at the deadline, at least in the scope of this season. But they were able to keep a roster spot open, so if there is a player to be added who may bolster the rotation, that player may come on the buyout market.
Veteran players on expiring contracts will often agree to a buyout deal if their team isn’t in playoff contention, or would like to give more playing time to younger players. This creates a sort of midseason free agency period. Teams get to pick through the riff-raff and occasionally add a meaningful player - we’ve already seen Kyle Lowry land in Philadelphia and Spencer Dinwiddie with the Lakers.
The chances of the Celtics adding a player at this point who will actually be helpful for a playoff run are pretty slim, but Brad Stevens and this front office have repeatedly proven able to find value in unlikely places. Let’s attack this list of available players offered by Keith Smith of Spotrac:
The following players cleared waivers today and are now free agents:
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 11, 2024
James Bouknight
Danilo Gallinari
Jordan Goodwin
Cory Joseph
Kevin Knox
Furkan Korkmaz
Robin Lopez
Chimezie Metu
Frank Ntilikina
Ish Smith
Thaddeus Young
James Bouknight: Once a promising young player out of Uconn, the rangy wing never developed any NBA skills. He was drafted in the lottery in 2021 by the Hornets and they are already giving up on him. He’s still young enough that he could get another shot somewhere and carve out a role, but he’s way too much of a project for the C’s at this point.
Danilo Gallinari: Obviously Celtics fans are familiar with Gallo as he was supposed to be a key signing going into the 2022-23 season before injuring himself playing for the Italian National team. He can still provide floor spacing but that’s about it. It’s hard to envision a scenario where he’d be a preferred option over any of our current rotation guys, and given the questionable comments he made about the organization after being traded, I’d rather pass.
Jordan Goodwin: Goodwin is a small guard who hasn’t really been able to carve out a role - even on the desperate-for-depth Suns. I don’t think he’s an upgrade on Pritchard in any area. This isn’t what we need.
Cory Joseph: A veteran point guard with some playoff experience. He would make more sense than Goodwin if we just want a vet who can be trusted on both ends. It’s not clear if he has a ton left in the tank, but he wouldn’t be the worst guy to have around if a guard was to get injured.
Kevin Knox: The idea of Knox makes sense as he’s a big wing with some shooting ability. But he’s never been able to make shots consistently at the NBA level and he doesn’t do anything else better than Oshae Brissett. He’s young enough, and has shown flashes in a way that he might be worth a flier, but if he’s in our playoff rotation we’re in trouble.
Furkan Korkmaz: A supposed sharpshooter who was not quite a good enough shooter to stick in the rotation. He requested a trade out of Philly on three separate occasions and was just waived by the Pacers in favor of Doug McDermott. He’s much worse than Sam Hauser.
Robin Lopez: More name than game by a mile at this point. RoLo couldn’t even stick on a team that has no depth and is known to reward nepotism. His days of playing meaningful NBA minutes are likely behind him.
Chimezie Metu: Metu is actually a decent young big with a motor, but we’re suddenly pretty flush at that spot. He’d be fighting for scraps behind KP, Al, Luke, X-man, and likely Queta in the pecking order. If we hadn’t just added Tillman I wouldn’t hate this move though.
Frank Ntilikina: Frankie Smokes was having difficulty getting on the court and then staying healthy in Charlotte. Once a promising young lottery pick, he’s never improved enough offensively to be playable in the NBA.
Ish Smith: A longtime Celtic killer, and a guy who has played for a league record 14 NBA teams in his journeyman career. Ish is a small guard who’s mainly in there to get buckets, but that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. But if his Hornets stint was any indication, he’s giving up a lot more buckets than he’s getting these days. I hate the thought of adding a guy who is unplayable in the playoffs due to defense.
Thaddeus Young: Thadgic Johnson caps off an extremely underwhelming list, but he’s probably my favorite target. It’s hard to tell just how washed up Thad is at this point, but he was completely overtasked briefly as a starting center for the Raptors recently and looked serviceable. He could fill a theoretical need as a small-ball center but he’s still not someone you’d feel great trotting out there. Could he be the 2024 version of P.J. Brown? It’s conceivable.
THE BOTTOM LINE: If these are the best options, then I don’t think any of these guys are really going to matter one way or another. These players all have pretty clear weaknesses that aren’t offset by massive strengths. If the Celts want to take a look at a guy like Thaddeus or Knox, that’s fine and it would come with no real cost. But if anyone on this list is factoring into the Celtics playoff rotation, then something disastrous has occurred.
Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images
