Boston. One city that has such an impact on all four major sports, especially basketball. The Boston Celtics have the most championships in the NBA at 17. However, since the last championship from the Bird-era in 1986, the Celtics have only won one championship. But that is all in the past, and Danny Ainge has made it a mission to build the Celtics in his image. The Celtics have a plethora of picks until 2019 (thanks Billy King!). Now, it’s time to give thoughts on the Celtics' offseason.
Signings: The biggest signing that the Celtics had was Amir Johnson. Johnson is a solid player who averaged 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds on 61 percent from the free-throw line. In the paint, the big man was a subpar defender. When Johnson defended the offensive player in the paint, his opponent shot 51.7 percent. The 28-year old was probably signed to add depth at the forward position.
The other signing was Jonas Jerebko. Jerebko is a smooth-shooting stretch four. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Pistons but flamed out. Jerebko shot 40 percent from three in his time with the Boston Celtics. He was helped out by the free-flowing offense that Boston ran. Hopefully Jerebko has found a spot in the NBA with the Celtics.
The biggest and probably the most underrated signing was Jae Crowder's. Crowder played phenomenal during his short stint with the Celtics late last season. He was also a key contributor during the playoffs, averaging 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds on 51.7 percent shooting. Acquired via the Rajon Rondo trade, the 25-year old turned out to be a huge steal in the deal. He has tremendous size on defense and plays with a lot of toughness and energy. Crowder is here to stay and is a good building block for Boston.
Draft: The Boston Celtics drafted Terry Rozier with their first pick in the draft. This pick was a bit of a shock because they had drafted Smart with the sixth pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. NBADraft.net compared him to Trey Burke/Mookie Blaylock. Blaylock was a lockdown defender who wasn’t more of an offensive threat, and Burke is the opposite of Mookie. The comparison is a good one considering he has little aspects of each players' game. Despite standing 6’2”, Rozier plays with a fire and passion that makes up for his lack of size. Rozier also has the quickness that makes up for his lack of size because he has great side-to-side movement.
With their next first-round pick, the Celtics took R.J. Hunter. NBADraft.net compared Hunter to Marco Bellinelli/J.J. Reddick.
“In short, his jump shot ... He's quite possibly best pure shooter in college ... He doesn't have your prototypical release but he is fluid and smooth and shoots a high percentage from virtually anywhere on the court ... He's got range for days and doesn't lack for confidence ... There's no shot on the court that he doesn't like and likewise, there's no shot on the court that he's afraid to take ... He can spot up and pull up off the dribble but he is at his best when he's coming off of screens ... He's got good size with regards to height and length for an off guard and he's a smart player ... He's a capable rebounder and is a decent enough defender although quicker players can cause him problems as his lateral quickness isn't that great ... He's a decent athlete but not an elite one ... He's a coach's son so he has a high basketball IQ …”
Hunter will be strictly a shooter off of picks at the next level. He will need to refine his defensive skills, though, in order to become just an adequate defender. However, the pick is a nice one for the C's. Hunter fits the Brad Stevens mold extremely well.
Despite not getting the same attention as the first-round picks, Jordan Mickey has the most potential to make an impact. Mickey is super athletic, and in this new age of small-ball, Mickey can play the four position and be very productive at it. He’s got a nice mid-range jumper and an improving post game. Mickey can be a steal for the Celtics.
Prediction: The Celtics will compete for the sixth-eighth seed in the East. Evan Turner had a good season in Boston as the secondary ball handler. Post All-Star break, Turner averaged 10.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.9 assists. With more consistent minutes, Turner can average similar numbers to that. The big key for the Celtics is Marcus Smart’s development. If he can at least learn to hit open three pointers consistently, then that transforms the entire Boston Celtics offense. Danny Ainge’s approach to wanting to be in the sixth-eighth seed rather than a lottery pick is strange, but he’s been good at building middle-of-the-pack caliber teams.