November 5, 2024

Acquanyc

Health's Like Heaven.

Boston Celtics Mailbag: Justise Winslow as a target, planning for 2022 free agency, Enes Kanter over Aron Baynes?

We’re running a weekly mailbag during the Celtics offseason. If you have questions about the Celtics or NBA, email [email protected] or tweet @briantrobb.

Does Justise Winslow still have a future and would he be an option for Boston at the minimum? — Jeff S

He’s certainly a reclamation project at this point. The Grizzlies declined a $14 million team option on him this offseason just one year after taking on a lot of bad salary (Dion Waiters, James Johnson) to acquire him from the Miami Heat. Winslow’s shooting numbers in the past two seasons (he’s only played 37 games) have been horrific and the eye test was not much better last year as a long list of injuries have slowed him down it appears.

With that all that, he’s only 25 years old and a healthy offseason could give him a chance to find his stride again. Based on how the free agent market has gone, I would expect Winslow to have the ability to get more than the minimum (but not much) based on his potential. My guess is he’s choosing his next destination based on fit as much as money at this point. However, for the Celtics, I don’t see them taking a flier on him for anything more than the minimum given the number of other young wings they already have under contract and Winslow’s recent struggles. While he could provide some valuable defensive versatility, the bet here is the Celtics don’t invest heavily in him due to his question marks.

Would the Celtics be players in the trade deadline with 3 exceptions after the Thompson trade goes down, to maybe take advantage of a market that’s thin on space? Shouldn’t they use the MLE to get one more useful vet like Danny Green to help out? Did they run this plan all by the Jays? — Eddy B

I expect the Celtics to be active at the trade deadline this year but probably not in taking on more money based on their actions so far this offseason. At that point, they still could be trying to clear cap room for 2022 so taking on any additional money beyond next season would be a detriment to that. In fact, it’s possible the team could look to get a return on some expiring deals at that point instead depending on how the season is going.

As far as mid-level exception goes, I agree that they need to put it to use. Danny Green just re-signed with Philly but there are a few other veterans still out there that are worth throwing a few million dollars at. Sitting on the exception after losing Evan Fournier would send a bad message to the team’s talent. Jayson Tatum said in Tokyo that Brad Stevens has been running plans by him so far this offseason but guessing there is more to the plan this month than just signing Enes Kanter and trading for Josh Richardson.

Absent a leap in development from the Jays and Nesmith/Langford and maybe really good health fortune for Al/Rob the Celts are definitely worse this year without another major move right? — Marple

I actually could see them being slightly better with this roster as is due to how much this group underachieved last year. Remember, no team got hit harder by COVID-19 all season and there were bad fits all over the roster (Theis/Thompson starting frontcourt, Jeff Teague, etc.). A couple of the young bench guys will need to step up to see some team improvement but assuming even marginally better health than last year, I expect this to be an over .500 team. The problem for Boston? The rest of the pack in the East playoff picture got a lot better too on paper so this current roster might only be good enough for the No. 7 or 8 seed, which still involves a trip to the play-in game.

Hey Brobb, First of all, great Celtics coverage on 98.5! Question, when was the last time the Celtics used a players Bird Rights to go over the cap? And, do you feel like ownership has deliberately refused to pay into the tax in recent years? — Chris

Good question about the Bird Rights. Using Bird Rights to re-sign a player is a pretty common occurrence for the Celtics over the past decade but it hasn’t happened much in the last couple of years when the team has been near the cap. I think the last player they did it with notably was Daniel Theis in the summer of 2019. The Celtics had cleared out cap room to sign Kemba Walker’s max but then they used Theis’ early Bird Rights to re-sign him to two-year, $10 million deal, which put them over the cap.

Ownership definitely avoided the luxury tax on purpose last season with the team dumping Daniel Theis and Javonte Green for nothing at the trade deadline. That move was defensible from a strategic standpoint since it makes little sense to pay the tax for a .500 team when it also hurts you in the future by activating the repeater tax sooner. However, the Celtics were already at the tax line this offseason even before making any additions. There isn’t much of a case to avoid it this year from a planning/strategic standpoint, it would be more about saving cash now, which wouldn’t go over well with the fanbase. Thanks for the kind words!

Not sure if Baynes will sign somewhere for the Vet minimum but if so would he make more sense than Kanter? Better defender and at least can imitate being a 3pt shooter. — Dan S

The timing of Baynes’ getting waived on Wednesday just hours after the Enes Kanter made this a popular thought. There’s no question that Baynes is a better defender than Kanter but how much he has left in the tank is a fair question. He had a miserable season in Toronto (his 3-point shooting fell off a cliff) and his durability remains a concern as well (he just pulled out of Olympics with a neck injury after falling in the shower).

For a frontcourt that already has durability question marks with Al Horford and Rob Williams, Kanter is a more sure thing to be healthy than Baynes. Whether he’s actually the better player next season remains to be seen.

Why did we get rid of Moses Brown? — Phil

Not totally clear yet. The Mavericks may have wanted something very minor to land Richardson or Boston could have just been looking to clear out some guaranteed money and a roster spot for a borderline prospect when they had other plans for the end of the roster. Either way, the Celtics clearly didn’t like him enough to dissuade them from using him to acquire Richardson.

Hi BRob, I love your writing, as well as your spots on 98.5…great to have an informed Celtics guy in town. I’ve had this argument with my buddies, but if Beal goes elsewhere (in FA next year or via trade this year) do you trade Tatum? I feel like it’s a forgone conclusion that those 2 play with each other. If not, what’s plan B? —Johnny

I don’t think you can trade Tatum that early even though there is no apparent Plan B just yet. You can bet Brad Stevens and company behind the scenes are working on one as they try to get all their ducks in a row for Beal this offseason or another option. Boston clearly has to be hoping the Wizards’ revamp flames out this upcoming season because you are right that if Beal commits on a long-term pact in Washington or elsewhere, the possibility of Tatum walking in 2025 would have to go up. However, that’s too far out for the Celtics to consider doing so soon, even if Beal isn’t coming in 2022. Plan B potential options will be covered in more depth in the coming weeks here at MassLive but outside of targeting another max free agent (Zach LaVine?) there’s not an obvious path. Appreciate the question and kind words.

Hey BRobb, Big fan of your stuff. Do you think the Celtics will try and trade one of Nesmith/Romeo Langford to possibly avoid the tax and start clearing up cap for next season? I wonder if they would rather trade them now instead of declining their team options and losing them for nothing next offseason. — Luca

This is definitely an option that will be explored but in order to do that effectively, one of those guys has to build some trade value. Langford clearly hasn’t done that and Nesmith remains a bit of a mystery after spending a lot of time on the bench last season.

We had a terrific number of questions this week so we will have a second part of the mailbag upcoming. In the meantime, send any questions for a future mailbag to [email protected]

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