Terry Rozier contract extension talk good for Boston Celtics, bad for Rozier
The Boston Celtics are discussing a contract extension with Terry Rozier. This is good for Boston, but bad for Rozier.
On Oct. 9, It was reported by Celtics Blog beat writer Keith Smith, that the Boston Celtics were working towards a contract extension with backup point guard Terry Rozier. A deal must be done within a week, otherwise Rozier will hit restricted free agency. Smith notes that a deal is unlikely, but it never hurts for Boston to at least look into the possibility.
The Celtics have a lot of work to do regarding this situation. Boston re-signed Marcus Smart last summer to a 4-year, $52 million deal.
They also will have to pay Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum max contract’s once their rookie deals are off the books. Gordon Hayward and Al Horford both have big contracts, making over $25 million each.
Where things get tricky for both sides is the fact that Kyrie Irving has made it clear that he wants to remain in Boston for the foreseeable future. He has a player option this upcoming offseason and he will be looking to get a max contract.
It's not surprising that Danny Ainge indicated that the Celtics and Terry Rozier aren't there on an extension. Boston has Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart at PG, so it would have to be team friendly for them to ink Rozier now. Rozier has no reason to do that after a breakout season.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 11, 2018
This completely downplays the idea of Irving wanting to play for the New York Knicks. This is great news for everyone, except for Rozier. As the Celtics look towards the future, Rozier finds himself in an uncertain spot with the team.
He’s made it known that he wants to win and doesn’t mind coming off the bench behind Irving. This all may be true, but there aren’t many players who would rather not play more minutes and make more money.
If winning and taking sacrifices is what Rozier prefers, then by all means he should be re-signing with the Celtics. However, after the 2017-18 season, its not hard to see him potentially becoming a starter one day.
During the regular season as a starter, he averaged, 15.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals. Those numbers show starter potential and he did excel while Irving was out with an injury. Boston should look into the idea of re-signing Rozier.
He’s a two-way player who has improved his shot and plays hard-nosed defense. He’s also been getting Boston fans going with the “Scary Terry” bit. He earned this nickname after performing well in the playoffs.
If Boston and Irving come to terms this offseason, that will potentially leave Rozier to coming off the bench for the next few years. Instead of wasting his potential and prime years of his career, he could make more money become a starter with another team.
It’s still to be seen if he can continue to do this on a regular basis. What is known is that he’s a hard worker and has the potential to be good. NBC Boston Sports reporter Chris Forsberg, reported that head coach of the Celtics, Brad Stevens, had some high regards towards the point guard.
"“I just have to figure out how to get him as many minutes as possible. He’s tremendous,” said Stevens. “And, not only in the way he plays when you guys all see him in the games, but just the way he goes about his everyday business. He works as hard as anybody on our roster."
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Those are high remarks from a great coach. Boston should look at any way possible to keep him on the roster. However, Rozier could find more playing time and money if he goes elsewhere.