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5 Roster Moves The Boston Celtics Need To Make

By Matthew Hallett

Apr 6, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) high fives a fan after making a basket against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) high fives a fan after making a basket against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 6, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) battle under the basket during the first half in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) battle under the basket during the first half in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Sign Al Horford

With centers disappearing off the free agency lists quicker than candy leaving a candy store, Boston needs to land Al Horford and they need to do it at their meeting.

Atlanta has played their hand. Dwight Howard is on his way back home. Howard ‘s three-year deal worth just over $70 million and Kent Bazemore‘s four-year deal worth $70 million does not leave enough room to sign Horford, unless they were planning to trade quite a few pieces of the roster to clear more cap space.

With Atlanta getting rid of Jeff Teague then signing Howard it looks like they are cleaning house and Horford could be moving on.

Boston has enough cap space to lock Horford in on a long-term lucrative deal, probably four years and somewhere near the max.

Horford is a top-level player. Last season he played in all 82 games which is something that he had never done before. He averaged 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 blocks in 32.1 minutes per game.

One number which I think is one of the most important is that he hits his shots at an tremendous 50.5 percent from the field. The amazing thing for is that Horford actually had a slight decline in his career field goal percentage this year, which stands at an incredible 53.5 percent.

Couple this number with his career numbers of 14.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 blocks per game and you have a reason to pay a player.

That is the type of all-around play that makes me think that Horford is the ultimate team type player. This is the sort of player that success is built around.

Next: Smart Trade

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