The Boston Celtics are facing a potential frontcourt availability concern as new Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis enters a rehabilitation process for his foot, recently diagnosed with plantar fasciitis serious enough to cause the Latvian center to eschew suiting up for his national team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Although the Celtics center is expected to be cleared for the start of the storied ball club’s 2023-24 training camp,
Porzingis’ injury history, including playing less than 65 games in the regular season in recent years, raises questions about his availability for a full 82-game season in Boston’s campaign to come. Considering the team’s other factors, such as veteran forward Al Horford’s age and Robert Williams III’s frequent absences to injury as well, it’s prudent for the Celtics to consider front-court additions.
To such an end, NESN’s Keagan Stiefel came up with four potential options that the Celtics can sign to shore up their frontcourt depth – let’s take a look at each.
“The 27-year-old always had success against the Celtics (11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in seven matchups with Boston), but it has become clear he isn’t the type of impact player that can start for a contender,” suggests Stiefel.
“Wood would certainly become a consistent contributor if he were to take a haircut and join Boston, but his inability to provide solid defense on a consistent basis severely lowers his ceiling.”
If the size of the role (and paycheck) made sense for Wood, we’d be okay with this signing, but we suspect he is looking for more in terms of minutes and salary both.
“Griffin is a savvy defender and isn’t the worst shooter on the planet,” notes the NESN analyst of the veteran big man.
“He’s an undersized option, but a little continuity could go a long way for the C’s entering next season.”
While it might not be the sexiest name on this list at this stage of his career, Boston would be wise to bring Griffin back given his ability to play at a fairly high level when his workload is not too big.
“The 30-year-old shot 39.4% from 3-point range in 2023, and at 7-feet tall he can guard the forward and center positions,” writes Stiefel.
“Like we said, no one is going to jump for joy if this is the signing, but he’s more than capable of filling in minutes.”
We are no fan of Frank the Tank here, but get the attraction given he can shoot and will likely command the minimum — but there’s a reason he is on the fringes of the league given he is a walking target on defense.
“Green has quietly been a tremendous contributor for some pretty good teams over the last three seasons, averaging 7.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets,” suggests the NESN author.
“The 33-year-old averaged 54.0% from the field and 37.8% from 3-point range in 57 regular-season games last season, and might just finally capture a ring with the Celtics.”
While at 6-foot-8 Green is a far cry from the 7-footer that is Porzingis, he might be the most capable replacement being floated here, and one we’d be quite happy to see in green and white.
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