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Robert Williams’ health is always going to be a concern for the Boston Celtics front office.
Despite proving himself as one of the most impactful big men in the league this season, Williams’ suffered another injury setback that saw him struggle for large stretches of the post-season. However, Boston is in a fortunate position this off-season, courtesy of a $17.2 million trade exception.
While Daniel Theis was acquired at the trade deadline to provide cover for Williams, the drop-off in production was noticeable, which is why he seldom saw the floor against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. And it’s why the Celtics will likely look to bring in another rim-runner to help bridge the gap. According to Keith Smith of CelticsBlog, Richaun Holmes of the Sacramento Kings would be the ideal back-up for Williams next season and could be attainable in a trade this summer.
“Holmes would be more of a pure backup for Robert Williams, but he’d be a really nice insurance policy behind the oft-injured Lord of Time,” Smith wrote on June 27.
Holmes has three years remaining on his current contract, which makes him a more attractive addition, as does his reasonable contract of $11.6 million a year – it is worth noting that Holmes’ final year is a player option.
Holmes Makes Perfect Sense
The downside to playing Theis behind Williams is that Ime Udoka has to adjust his offensive gameplan. Rather than having an athletic rim-runner screening and then vertically stretching the floor, Udoka has to adjust to a pick-and-pop heavy offense, which limits Boston’s ability to pressure the rim.
Holmes would fix that issue quite quickly, as he is built in a similar mold to Williams’ in that he sets solid screens, and gets most of his offense around the rim. In fact, this past season the 28-year-old center saw 59% of his total offense come within four feet of the basket, with another 35% coming from the floater area – because Holmes has a high-level push-shot style floater that he converts at a 55% clip.
Standing at six-foot-ten, Holmes would ensure Boston adds legitimate size to their bench, along with some additional athleticism and rim protection. Throughout Holmes’ 45 games last season, he averaged 10.4 points, seven rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.9 blocks per game, and it’s fair to envision those numbers remaining steady in a bench role on a contending Celtics team.
A Back-Up Big Should be a Priority
Al Horford will be entering the final year of his current contract next season, and Williams is always an injury risk. We know that Theis doesn’t fit this roster’s offensive style of play, and Luke Kornet doesn’t project to be an impactful addition should he re-sign for another year.
That’s why adding an additional big man that fits the “rim-runner” mold projects to be a high priority for the Celtics this off-season, although, that does mean they’ll need to find a new home for Theis, which could prove difficult due to his annual salary of $8.9 million per year.
Still, moving Theis should remain a secondary concern until Brad Stevens and the Celtics front office find a suitable long-term back-up for Williams, but that back-up has to be capable of starting games in a pinch, and that’s why Holmes, who has 160 career starts under his belt, makes perfect sense for the Celtics this off-season.
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