The Boston Celtics are one of the most expensive teams in the NBA. With the contracts of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White, there is almost no cap room left to improve the roster.
All of those contracts are one of the reasons why the Celtics are in the second apron. Because of that, they don’t have many ways to improve the roster in free agency.
That means that the Celtics are limited to improving the roster in the offseason with a trade or through the draft. Being in the second apron makes trades so much harder to execute.
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That means that the Celtics will have to use the draft to get better in the near future. The issue with that is that they won’t have a good draft pick this year.
If everything goes well for Boston, they will have a late first-round pick. That’s what Bleacher Report believes they will have in their latest mock draft.
Because they have such a late pick, it’s going to be hard for them to get someone who is going to make a real impact. However, they are projected to land someone who could really help them.
That player is Nique Clifford. Clifford is a versatile player from Colorado State who has good size at the wing position. He’s 6’6 and can play small forward or small-ball power forward.
Clifford is the only player in the country who is averaging a double-double. He is someone that could help them win if he falls to the end of the first-round.
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Boston isn’t worried too much about the future. It’s clear that they are worried about capitalizing on their title window right now with the contracts they have on their books.
The Celtics are doing exactly what they should do with the talent that they have. Adding Clifford would give them more versatility at the wing spot, which is something they covet.
It remains to be seen if a new owner might try to shed some salary in order to reduce their tax bill. If that happens, then this draft will become even more important for them.
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For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.
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