Brad Stevens has a difficult job to do this summer as he makes some tough decisions regarding the Boston Celtics‘ current roster.
From deciding whether or not to offer Jaylen Brown a supermax contract to figuring out whether Grant Williams will be bought back on a long-term deal or if he will be allowed to join another team. And then, of course, there is the issue of improving the current rotation.
According to Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, one player who could potentially make a difference for the Celtics is New York Knicks big man Jericho Sims. After being drafted late in the second round of the 2021 draft, Sims has struggled to earn legitimate rotation minutes under Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, and that could mean he would be available at the right price.
Jericho Sims might be Superman
“His game doesn’t have a ton of layers to it, but he wouldn’t need many to fill a helpful backup role behind Al Horford and Robert Williams III,” Buckley wrote. “And should Sims show more growth going forward—he’s only 24 years old—he could fill a more prominent role when Horford makes that proverbial trek into the sunset.”
Over his first two seasons in the NBA, Sims has participated in 93 games for the Knicks, averaging 2.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per contest while shooting the rock at a 75.8% clip from the field.
Celtics Should Offer Jaylen Brown an Extension
According to an NBA General Manager who spoke with Heavy on Sports Steve Bulpett, under the condition of anonymity, the Celtics would be wise to agree terms on a contract extension with Jaylen Brown.
“I hear fans up there are debating whether to give Brown the supermax (five years, $290 million), but at some point the numbers don’t really matter,” The GM Said. “First of all, the guy is one of the better players in the league. Start there. I know people are all upset about his last game (19 points, 1-9 on 3-pointers, eight turnovers), and sure he was bad, but that was a team-wide collapse. Just take a step back and look at where he is and what he can do. The guy can play.”
Jaylen Brown: “When my team needed me most JT hurt his ankle in the first play of the game and you could see it like, swelling up, on him and he couldn’t move out there. It was tough for him and my team turned to me to make plays and I came up short, I failed and it’s tough.”
Assuming Brown is offered the Designated Veteran Player extension, which is also known as the supermax, he would consume 35% of the Celtics’ cap space throughout the duration of that contract.
Assuming that Jayson Tatum is then provided with his own supermax contract – which would likely come into effect in 2025 (assuming Tatum declines his player option), the Celtics would then have 70% of their cap space assigned to just two players.
Given the potential ramifications of being a second apron tax team under the new collective bargaining agreement (which doesn’t come into force for another two seasons,) Boston would potentially find it difficult to build out the rest of their roster around the two All-Star wings.
Danny Ainge Supports Joe Mazzulla
During a recent interview with Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, former Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge, praised head coach Joe Mazzulla for the job he’d done this season.
“This team found joy. They were inconsistent, but they were rooting for each other. They were all defending Joe in the media,” Ainge told Shaughnessy. “You see Joe’s toughness and stubbornness. He’s a relentless worker. He has a passion to learn. Joe is a leader, and I think this was a difficult situation with the high expectations the team had coming in. I don’t think there’s anybody there that doesn’t believe that Joe is better than Ime (Udoka) as a coach.”
Interesting stuff from Danny Ainge in this chat with @Dan_Shaughnessy.
“I don’t think there’s anybody there that doesn’t believe that Joe is better than Ime as a coach.”
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Celtics Could Target ‘Sneaky-Good’ Deal for Knicks Big Man