Yes, these Boston Celtics look like they should be quite good this season. But there might be a push to make them even better.
Al Horford was their big offseason signing, a guy who makes Boston more of a contender than a pretender. And even with Horford and third overall pick Jaylen Brown added to the team, the C’s might still go after someone. Or, at least, there seems to be a notion that they could/will go after someone.
Earlier in the offseason, the Celtics were linked to a lot of star players: Russell Westbrook (who re-signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder), Kevin Durant (who ended up going to Golden State despite Tom Brady’s convincing pitch), Jimmy Butler (the heart and soul of the Chicago Bulls) and Blake Griffin (he’s not on the trading block, according to Doc Rivers).
The NBA is definitely a star-driven league just given how small the rosters are, but there is only a certain number of real “superstar” players. Sure, people can be generous and label some guys stars (who are not truly stars), so it might be tough to land one who is truly a star.
If the Celtics want to bolster their big-man situation, perhaps they could go after Greg Monroe. He makes a lot of money — which hurts his value in terms of cap space — but the guy can play the game, so he’d be good for the Celtics.
Was he an All-Star? Can we call him a superstar? No and no. But he is linked to the Portland Trail Blazers via trade and has averaged 14.5 points per game with 9.1 rebounds per contest in his six-year NBA career.
Sure, rumors are going to fly. But it is clear the Celtics are a good team — probably not better than the Cleveland Cavaliers though. And they need to fix that soon.