According to Jay King of The Athletic, the Boston Celtics do not plan on signing any of the big-name veteran big men that are still available on the open market.
Despite Robert Williams’s knee procedure, I was told the Celtics are not planning to sign one of the big-name veteran centers still available. Expect them to replace the recently waived Bruno Caboclo with another young big man to compete for a spot in training camp.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) September 21, 2022
This will seemingly cross names such as Dwight Howard, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins, and Hassan Whiteside off the list of potential targets.
King also noted that the Celtics will likely look to add a young big man to their training camp roster, as he reported earlier this offseason that the team is holding somewhat of a competition to fill out the final roster spots. Bruno Caboclo was waived on September 20 and will presumably be replaced by a big. Noah Vonleh is currently the only frontcourt player on a training-camp contract right now.
Robert Williams is set to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery, which will sideline him for 4-6 weeks. That timeline will likely cause him to miss the first week or two of the regular season, leaving the Celtics’ frontcourt depth in a state of disarray. With Danilo Gallinari also injured, Boston is likely looking to add additional big man depth.
Boston has emphasized youth with their signings so far this summer. In addition to Vonleh (27), they’ve added Jake Layman (28), Justin Jackson (27), and Denzel Valentine (28). While none are young in the traditional NBA sense, all three are under 30 and still looking to prove themselves in the league.
Since Brodric Thomas has yet to be officially signed by the team, Boston currently has two open spots on their training camp roster.
