With Gordon Hayward likely to re-sign with the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin and Atlanta Hawks Paul Millsap have become the most likely fall-back options for general manager Danny Ainge to upgrade its frontcourt this offseason. Millsap has already decided to opt out of his deal and become an unrestricted free agent last week, while Blake Griffin is expected to announce his decision in the coming weeks.
According to A.Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet, the Celtics’ main focus this offseason is to land an All-Star caliber talent in the frontcourt.
Hayward, who averaged a career-high 21.9 points on 47 percent FG shooting with 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 34 minutes per contest last season , is still a target for the Celtics . However, he’s no longer the top player on the team’s free agency wish list as all indications pointing toward him re-signing with emerging Western Conference contender Utah Jazz.
Blake Griffin
If Hayward is unavailable, expect the Celtics to pursue top-tier power forward Blake Griffin. The Los Angeles Clippers star missed 20 games last season due to a minor knee surgery, but he did put up 21.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 4.9 apg in 61 games. Griffin continued to record huge numbers in the first two games of the series vs. the Jazz (25 points and 6 rebounds between Game 1 and 2) but suffered a season-ending toe injury in Game 3.
Blakely thinks luring Griffin to Boston isn’t out of the realm of possibility. After all, he can be nice complement next to Al Horford in the Celtics frontcourt. However, like Hayward, Griffin will likely stay put with his current team largely because the Clippers can offer more money on the table. “The Celtics may pursue Los Angeles Clippers big man Blake Griffin. Although like Hayward, he too is expected to re-sign with his current team for a max contract (for Griffin that would be five years, $175 million),” Blakely notes.
Paul Millsap
Millsap is another intriguing frontcourt target for the Celtics because of his ability to stretch the floor. At 32, Millsap is already past his primed to be a franchise savior for any team, though he can still put up steady numbers (18.1 ppg and 7.7 rpg during the 2016/17 season) as the second or third scoring option of a deep team.
Moreover, he also figured to be a nice fit alongside Horford because of his 31.1 percent 3-point clip. He’s not a knockdown shooter, but can make any defense honest with his lethal mid-range to 18-footer jumpers.
Ainge gunning for big trades
The Celtics general manager understands that he’s in for a busy offseason, as he tries to put up a better team next season. In an interview with Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, Ainge stressed that he’s fully aware his team is still few pieces away from challenging LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers as the no.1 squad in the Eastern Conference. He even acknowledges that the current Celtics roster has plenty of good players, though they need greater ones to contend for the title. With that being said, Ainge is not ruling out potential trades to happen over the next few months
