The NBA season has finally come to an end. The Dallas Mavericks won their first franchise championship as the Miami Heat came crumbling apart in Game 6. People rejoiced as LeBron James fell short of his goal again, and looked like a fool in the process. Cleveland is still a long way from title dreams, but at least their nightmares aren’t coming true; LeBron is still empty handed. A fitting ending to a turbulent season.
As for the rest of the league, the off season looks grim and the draft looks even worse. Cleveland is set to take Kyrie Irving, but his is no LeBron James. If anything, he’s another John Wall. There are very few key players coming into free agency this summer, so any spectacular moves would be beyond shocking. Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are staying put for at least one more season.
The Boston Celtics, already depleted in the center position, were given another blow as Nenad Kristic – a solid player who came in the Perkins deal – opted to play in Russia as the league is in lockout. This has raised some chatter over who the Celtics can sign to go along with Jermaine O’Neal. Sacramento’s Samuel Dalembert has been discussed, and I’ve even heard of a sign and trade situation where Glen Davis gets sent to the Clippers for Chris Kaman. However, these possibilities would eventually prove more problematic than helpful for the Celtics. Dalembart is solid, but not solid enough for his price tag. And Davis is far more important to Boston than a reject from the Clippers.
This leaves Boston with fewer options. The only great center who is a free agent this summer is Tyson Chandler from Dallas. I don’t see him leaving the champion Mavericks for a lot less money in Boston however. The Celtics could try and get Greg Oden from the Trail Blazers, but I don’t see the former number one overall pick taking a minimum contract. I also don’t see Portland letting him walk away; they’ve invested too much already. Boston could also try for Kwame Brown, another former number one overall pick. His price tag will be low, and I’m sure he’d relish the chance to play for a contender. The only thing Boston can really do is draft big men and hope they work out well. This might be good news for Troy Murphy, who never really got off the ground in Boston. If he works out and proves he can defend and grab rebounds (and maybe even get his jump shot down again) he could be back for another year. But that’s a big if for Dropkick.
Boston cannot afford to let Davis walk. He wants to be a starter, sure, but after his abysmal performance in the Miami series, it’s obvious he needs more work. And with Garnett likely to retire soon, he is already being groomed to take that place.
The wing position is still weak for Boston. There are talks about retaining Von Wafer for another year, which is not a terrible idea. Wafer had moments on the court where he proved his worth, but overall he wasn’t the spark Boston needed. Eddie House is set to be a free agent this summer, and was a proven provider during his tenure in Boston. He is essentially the same player as Delonte West, but could definitely hold down the point with West at the two-spot.
Unless the Celtics can lure away J. R. Smith or come up with some brilliant scheme to get O. J. Mayo in a trade, they're likely to remain weak the two spot for this coming season. The Grizzlies already tried to move his contract, but the Celtics don’t have enough to offer. Jamal Crawford is unrestricted, but his price tag is very high. This might a position that Boston drafts for and hopes it will pan out.
A couple of veteran players are available, and the Celtics could get them inexpensively. Tracy McGrady used to be a serious threat, and could be useful off the bench to relieve Ray Allen’s minutes. And based on Danny Ainge’s love of gambling, I could see a minimum contract being offered to Allen Iverson in hopes of providing some kind of bench run offense. These are all hypothetical scenarios. The certainty of the Celtics offseason is very murky right now.
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