Boston Celtics: 5 best free agent signings in team history
By Drew Taylor
5. Dana Barros
Dana Barros didn’t quite put up fantastic numbers for the Celtics, but he was a solid sixth man and teammate during the organization’s rebuilding period in the ‘90s.
Barros was drafted in the middle of the first round in the 1989 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. He spent four seasons there, averaged 8.1 points and 2.1 assists per game and was the sixth man for consistently competitive SuperSonics teams.
In 1994-95, he played and started every game for the 76ers, averaging 20.6 points, 7.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds over 40.5 minutes per game. He shot 46.4 percent from three and nearly 90 percent from the free-throw line. In this breakout season, Barros was selected to his first and only All-Star Game and was voted as the NBA’s Most Improved Player.
His career year couldn’t have come at a better time. That summer, Barros hit free agency and signed a six-year, $21 million contract with the Boston Celtics. Growing up in the Boston area and attending Xaverian Brothers High School and Boston College (both in Massachusetts), Barros was returning home to play ball.
Barros never performed as well in Boston as he did in Philadelphia, but he didn’t get the opportunity to. His playing time was drastically cut and he returned to the sixth man role. In his five-year Boston career, however, Barros still averaged 10.1 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in only 22.9 minutes per game.
Instead of being the organization’s star, he shared playing time with Dee Brown and served as a mentor for younger players like Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce.
Though he didn’t quite live up to his $21 million contract, Barros provided a solid five years for the Celtics and was a silver lining in the forgetful Rick Pitino-era.