Getty Enes Freedom, Boston Celtics
Enes Freedom was a casualty of the Boston Celtics trade activity around the February 10 trade deadline.
The veteran big man was part of the deal that saw Daniel Theis return to Boston, with Freedom, Bruno Fernando, and Dennis Schroder heading to the Houston Rockets as part of the package.
However, shortly after the trade was finalized, news broke that the Rockets were waiving Freedom, making him an unrestricted free agent as a result.
The Rockets are waiving Enes Freedom, source tells ESPN.
“I don’t know if anyone else signs him. Maybe not. I think from a basketball standpoint, it’s really questionable. I’m not sure if any of the other stuff will even come into play. I don’t think he won’t get a job because of anything he’s said or done. I think he just doesn’t guard, and the game is changing. He plays a lot older than he really is,” a team GM told Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett recently.
Another team GM told Bulpett, referring to Freedom’s recent activity in politics, both on TV and across social media, “I think people agree with almost of all of the positions he’s taken. I think this just comes down to basketball.”
Freedom Struggled For Minutes in Boston
Despite returning to the Celtics at the start of the season, it quickly became apparent that Freedom would struggle to fit into new head coach Ime Udoka’s plans. Throughout his career, the veteran big man has been a drop defender who provides exceptional value on the offensive glass.
However, Udoka prefers his bigs to operate on the perimeter, and to switch on defense – both of those things are outside of Freedom’s capability. As such, the Celtics were forced to alter their defensive and offensive approach when Freedom checked into the game, and it seldom produced positive results.
Furthermore, Freedom’s effectiveness on the boards no longer seems to be at the level it once was. In his 35 games for the Celtics this season, Freedom averaged 4.6 rebounds per game, yet appearances can be deceiving. According to Cleaning The Glass, Freedom pulled down 15.6% of available offensive rebounds, ranking him in the 95th percentile among big men.
Unfortunately, it was the 29-year-old’s lack of versatility that ultimately cost him playing time this year, along with his defensive limitations beyond four-foot outside of the rim. The NBA game has changed for big men, and Freedom has failed to adapt with the times, and now, he will be hunting for another team to take a chance on him, if he’s to continue his career in the league.
There’s Still a Chance Freedom Finds a Team
Despite his poor showing in Boston, Freedom has found success in the league before, most notably during his two stints with the Portland Trail Blazers. However, Portland has a new coaching staff and looks to be heading towards a rebuild, so it’s unlikely Freedom goes back there for a third time.
Yet, there are plenty of teams who are struggling on the glass, and Freedom could offer them a cheap, reliable upgrade in that department. The question is, do the teams that need a rebounding upgrade have the roster space, or more importantly, the cap space to acquire the veteran big man off the buyout market?
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Perhaps Freedom will need to wait until the off-season before he finds a new home, which could give him the required time to begin expanding his game beyond the rim. After all, if Blake Griffin and Brook Lopez could go from low-post players to three-point offensive hubs, there’s no reason Freedom can’t at least attempt to remake himself along those lines.
But for now, with Freedom sitting on the free-agent market, rumors will continue to swirl about his chances of returning to the NBA. And for a player that played a prominent role in Portland’s run to Western Conference finals in 2018-19, which they ultimately lost to the Golden State Warriors, the fall from grace has been swift and merciless.