Breaking Down All Of Yesterday's Celtics News And What It Could Mean Moving Forward

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Yesterday of course was the day we got the big domino of Gordon Hayward's decision to opt out of his contract and become a free agent. We still don't truly know what the next step is going to be, he could leave for a team like ATL/NYK, he could re-sign for a team friendly deal, or he could force Ainge's hand to trade him to a destination he wants to go to as a S&T. My guess is we'll learn the deal in the next few days, maybe even later today once free agency opens at 6pm ET.

But there were also another handful of Celts decisions from yesterday that will impact next year's roster. They aren't the same level of a Hayward bomb, but they are important. Let's run through em

This wasn't all that surprising since Kanter probably wasn't going to fetch more than $5M on the open market. If his agent knew that money was out there, he would have opted out. Now what's important to note here is that just becasue Kanter opted in, does not guarantee that he'll be on the roster next season. If Ainge can find a deal he likes and has to include Kanter's salary, now he can.

But seeing as how this roster isn't exactly loaded with bigs, I wouldn't mind another year of Enes Kanter. I thought he did a good job of filling his role. It's all about setting your expectations correctly. My expectations have always been for him to come in on the second unit, rebound the ball, be a low post scoring presence, and that was pretty much it. I know his defense is a disaster at times. I know he can't guard P&R. I don't expect him to. But this was a guy that had an 18% OREB% and a 23% total REB%. That's about as legit rebounding production as you could want from a big. He proved to be one of the best offensive rebounding bigs this team has had in decades. For a team that I could consider a streaky shooting roster, his rebounding is important. 

If you've been reading my blogs, you should have known this was going to happen. It's why I keep stressing how important back up point guard is on this roster and why you saw Ainge draft Payton Pritchard. I'd say Wanamaker's Celtics tenure was solid and steady. Nothing spectacular, he had his moments where he drove you mad, but he was for the most part pretty consistent. He never complained about his role, he was a good back up, was solid defensively and I do think they'll miss that on the second unit while the young guys develop. 

The Celts making this move now allows him to test the market the best he can and maybe land somewhere that will offer him more than the minimum. I can't imagine he comes back even if Hayward does leave, but he's for sure going to find another NBA home.

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And with that, the Thick Jacked Frame era has ended. If this is the end of Semi's time in Boston which it looks like it is, I'll remember him most for what he could have been. The offense just never came around. Even his shooting never really took the leap I think they were hoping it would. When your only role is to stand in the corner and make open threes, you ya know….have to make the threes.

They do lose someone who can guard multiple positions and was a pretty good defender, but it's clear Ainge would prefer to have the open roster spot and try something new. Considering the second unit needs offense help, this doesn't really surprise me. Considering they just drafted a wing at 14, the writing was kind of on the wall.

Hey look, Danny made another trade! Are people happy yet? Look, we all know this isn't a blockbuster, but it's not irrelevant. Not only did they snag a small 2.5M trade exception, but most importantly they opened up a roster spot from someone who was not going to play. Vinny Sex Pants was fun for Weird Celtics Twitter, but it's time to fill that spot with someone that might be able to actually play. So in that regard, this was a good move. I don't even care about the picks, that's whatever. This is more about creating a spot for a player, maybe a big, maybe a shooter, whatever, that might be able to help. If you can absorb some salary with that exception, even better.

Finally, some big Celtics news. Give me more of this next season

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Could this be Vinnie's roster spot? That'd be fine by me. This team needs bigs and they don't get bigger than Tacko. Not only that, but he showed some actual flashes in his limited appearances! Throw him 10-15 mintues a night, we are ready.

The Tremont offer is interesting to me. It does feel like they have to make a decision between him and Carsen now that Pritchard is on the roster, and with his quick hands and pure passing ability, he's an interesting candidate. Neither him or Carsen showed they could really shoot at the NBA which is an issue, but this tells me they want a longer look at what Waters can do. I imagine he'll still be back and forth from Maine, but if Wanamaker is out we'll probably see him more at the NBA level. 

So while most of the focus will be on Hayward and rightfully so, we also saw this team create as many as 3 roster spots (not counting Kanter) at the NBA level. This helps give Ainge some flexibility as we head into free agency. For those who did not want them to run the same team back, well this is part of that process. The second unit needs upgrading, and these moves potentially allow that to happen. Now we wait to see who fills in the gaps.