The Boston Celtics will need to add to their talented roster in order to compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers back east next season. That much was made obvious after Boston dropped the Eastern Conference Finals in five games to the three-time defending conference champs.
How Boston goes about adding to a core that includes Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford remains to be seen. Flush with the first pick in the month’s draft, some have speculated that GM Danny Ainge and Co. should use that asset to bring in another star. Both Paul George and Jimmy Butler have been bandied about as possibilities.
Even if Boston were to add a star via the trade circuit, it has enough money to spend under the cap to add even more talent in free agency.
According to Keith Smith of FanRag Sports and Celtics Blog, multiple “prominent” free agents are now interested in joining the Celtics.
We’re not too sure who these free agents are, but at least one comes from the Western Conference. He had an interesting thought on the Celtics and their fans.
“I only get to play there once a year, but you can feel it. The fans are crazy, he said. “Even when they were bad, those fans were there. When we were bad, our building was silent. And we all saw the way they sent off Paul (Pierce). It was amazing. Cheering an opposing player like that doesn’t happen anywhere else.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported earlier this week that Blake Griffin and Gordon Hayward are Boston’s top two free agent targets. Obviously, it’s possible that the one who spoke on a condition of anonymity is Griffin or Hayward.
As it is, Boston will surely be players this summer. Whether that’s going to be enough to unseat Cleveland back east remains to be seen.