BOSTON – The Celtics will be like every other NBA team and show up to training camp near the end of September with more bodies than they’ll keep around once they hit the regular season.
The Celtics have 16 players with guaranteed contracts heading into camp, one more than the NBA-maximum allowed.
No need to pull out a calculator for this one or call on your analytics buddy.
Someone with a guaranteed contract has to go.
It’s that simple.
So who will it be?
That’s where it gets tricky.
Several names have been thrown around as possibilities to be moved, but only a handful of them make a lot of sense.
Here's a look at four players who are the most likely candidates to find themselves playing for another team this season:
EVAN TURNER
There’s a lot to like about Turner’s play this past season in Boston. The former No. 2 overall pick showed the kind of all-around versatility that made him such a coveted prospect coming out of Ohio State. Still, the progress Turner made last season isn’t likely to be on full display this season, not with Boston more focused on developing Marcus Smart as the team’s primary playmaker. Smart’s inconsistent play at running the team as a rookie last season paved the way for Turner to play meaningful minutes. But Smart showed significant progress this summer and will certainly get more opportunities to showcase his talents this season. Also, Boston re-signing Jae Crowder to a five-year, $35 million speaks to their belief that he is part of their future which means he’ll likely get more minutes at the small forward position which will most likely cut into Turner’s chances at playing. The more you look at this roster and the moves they made this summer, the clearer it becomes that Turner doesn’t fit into the team’s long or short-term plans. Fortunately for him, he does have value in the eyes of many NBA teams after this past season in Boston when he averaged 9.5 points, 5.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Celtics should be able to move him and in return get at least a conditional first-round pick as part of the deal. The team to keep an eye on is the Utah Jazz who are in need of another veteran playmaker with Dante Exum’s torn left ACL injury, which may keep him out for the season. For a team on the rise such as Utah, Turner would be a great stop-gap fit. And because he is in the final year of his contract, there’s no long-term commitment on the part of the Jazz, whose goal this season is to get into the playoffs.
KELLY OLYNYK
Being a 7-footer who can stretch the floor is almost a cliché these days in the NBA. But it is still one of the many skills that the Boston Celtics love about Kelly Olynyk. But his inability to become a more consistent, more aggressive scorer is quite troubling. That’s why his time with the Canadian National Team this summer may play a role in the Celtics’ decision as to his future in Boston. Although Olynyk is still on the mend after a left knee injury in an international exhibition game last week, this is yet another opportunity for him to be more of a go-to guy which is what his team needs from him. So much attention will be paid to Andrew Wiggins that it should afford Olynyk more opportunities to make an impact this week where the FIBA Qualifying tournament games are played in Mexico City. There are some who dwell on the fact that Olynyk isn’t a good rebounder. Well that makes him no different than most stretch 4s in the NBA. But the lack of attacking teams offensively with some frequency is what brings his future with the Celtics in question. For now, Olynyk isn’t being shopped aggressively by Boston but several league sources have indicated that he is no different than the rest of the team in terms of being available “at the right price.” Exactly what that is remains to be seen. But for both Olynyk and the Celtics’ sake, a strong showing in Mexico City this week would go far in strengthening his status as a player the Celtics want to keep around for a while.
JARED SULLINGER
Based on various social media photos this summer, Jared Sullinger has lost a decent amount of weight. But losing weight doesn’t necessarily equate to being in better shape. Sullinger has been one of the better players from his 2012 draft class because of his ability to rebound the basketball as well as score around the basket. It’s his backside – also known as junk in the trunk – that makes him such an effective force around the rim despite most of the time being matched up against taller, rangier players. The weight loss may allow him to run the floor better and be more accurate from 3-point range (he knows and the Celtics know that shooting 28 percent on 3s won’t cut it). But if he’s not able to dip that derriere into the paint and create space around the basket, he won’t be nearly as effective as he’s used to being. The story with him is all about his conditioning which has been a factor in two of his three NBA seasons either being cut short or resulting in him missing significant court time. That said, I’m still a believer that if he can get his conditioning where it needs to be, he has more All-Star like upside than any of the young players on this team.
PERRY JONES
He was a man of mystery on draft night in 2012 and now three years later, there’s still no consensus of what to make of him. It’s hard to imagine the Celtics unloading him before camp because the whole point of making the trade with Oklahoma City for him was to get a up-close look at one of the more talented players that nobody has an idea of can play consistently at this level. There are few players who are 6-foot-11 with small-forward like skills like Jones. Unfortunately for him, one of those players is perennial all-star and former league MVP Kevin Durant who played ahead of Jones in Oklahoma City. No longer in the shadow of Durant, Jones finally has a chance to showcase what he can do and not be consumed as much with having a limited role. He has a clean slate here in Boston, something he was looking for when it became clear the Thunder were looking to move him. So, opportunity is no longer an issue for the 28th overall pick in the 2012 draft. Now, it’s all on him to produce and start playing up to the promise that better reflects his immense talents.