Getty Bruno Caboclo of Brazil making a dunk during the 2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Training camp hasn’t even started, and the Boston Celtics have already started making cuts. With Danilo Gallinari out indefinitely with an ACL tear, and Robert Williams III out for the next four to six weeks to recover from arthroscopic surgery on his knee, the Celtics are in need of some frontcourt help and may very well look for more proven options still available on the market.
To do this, the Celtics have already cut one of the players they had previously signed on to participate in their training camp: Bruno Caboclo.
Sources: The Celtics have waived forward Bruno Caboclo.
It may not have gone this way had Gallinari and/or Williams been ready to go for training camp, but Caboclo may not have made the team regardless if they were knowing the number of veterans who are competing for a spot on the team.
Caboclo is best known for the label of being “two years away from being two years away” from ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla but has yet to latch onto an NBA team since being drafted in the first round in 2013. In his time with the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, and Houston Rockets, Caboclo has averaged 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three.
Possible Former All-Star Replacements for Williams
After Williams’ injury had been confirmed, Adrian Wojnarowski went on ESPN to discuss who the Celtics might add to fill in for Williams.
“There are still some veteran bigs out there in the marketplace if they decide that they want to add somebody. Dwight Howard is out there. LaMarcus Aldridge is out there, a player I was told they showed a little interest in this summer.”
Because of Williams’ timeframe, Wojnarowski says it’s not a foregone conclusion the Celtics will add another big.
“They expect to have (Williams) at 100 percent fairly early in the season. So I think it still remains to be seen whether Boston feels like it needs to go out and get some help. Really, mostly, this is going to be a preseason, training camp injury.”
.@wojespn with the latest report on Robert Williams III:
Howard spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he averaged 6.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks while shooting 61.2 percent from the field in 60 games with the team.
Aldridge spent last season with the Brooklyn Nets, where he averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and one block a game while shooting 55 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from three in 47 games with the team.
Other Frontcourt Free Agent Options
Heavy’s Sean Deveney was the first to report that Williams would miss training camp and pre-season with arthroscopic knee surgery. In his article, he cited other options the Celtics could look at on top of Howard and Aldridge.
“The Celtics have 12 roster spots and are likely to add two more players, though they will be mostly looking at wings with those spots. That could change, though, with the Williams news. There are experienced veteran centers to be had on the market—Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins, Cody Zeller, Hassan Whiteside, and former Celtics Greg Monroe and Tristan Thompson among them—but Boston could be willing to give Kornet and/or Kabengele an opportunity to prove themselves.”
After Deveney’s report came out, Zeller has since signed on with the Utah Jazz on a training camp deal.
Free agent center Cody Zeller has agreed to a deal with the Utah Jazz, sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba.