If the Athletic’s John Hollinger is right, the Boston Celtics could be changing up their frontcourt in 2020-21 while bringing back veteran forward Gordon Hayward.
In an article the former Memphis Grizzlies general manager put together to try and divine which way players and teams will go regarding pending player and team options coming due this summer, the Athletic analyst sees change on the horizon for both forward Semi Ojeleye and center Enes Kanter.
For the Butler product, he sees a return.
Noting the cash crunch Boston could be looking at depending on how their offseason goes, Hollinger believes Ojeleye’s lack of offensive consistency and financial concerns will lead to the Celtics declining to pick up his team option.
“Besides, Grant Williams does most of the same things and has a guaranteed deal for more money,” added the former executive. “Ojeleye has a place in the league, but I’m not sure this team is it any longer.”
As for Kanter — who has a player option allowing him to choose — Hollinger is equally bearing about a return to Boston.
Seeing a market for Kanter despite his defensive shortcomings, the analysts believes the outspoken Turkish big will choose to test the open market, with a team possessing more playing time ultimately luring Kanter away.
“Boston’s Daniel Theis and Robert Williams are likely to play ahead of him, so his best-case scenario would be to be thrown into a trade to an uncertain destination. It’s a close call, but in Kanter’s case I’m guessing he’s better off controlling his own destiny and getting a piece of exception money, possibly on another 1+1 deal with a new team..”
For the big fish in the Celtics summer free agency pond, Hollinger believes Hayward will return, opting into the final season of his current deal.
“Hayward’s strong bounce-back season with the Celtics this year theoretically opens the door for him to test free agency in search of one more big payday. Realistically, however, none of the teams that have room would seem to need to break the bank to have a 30-year-old wing be their third-best player.”
As seems to be the growing consensus, the notion that Hayward will do better to take the $34 million available to him now in favor of hitting the market in a “much more favorable free-agent market in 2021” makes sense.
