The Boston Celtics have been hit hard by injuries this offseason. First, free agent signee Danilo Gallinari suffered a torn ACL while playing for Italy. Now, big man Robert Williams is undergoing another surgery on his troublesome left knee, which will keep him out at least 4-6 weeks. Because of these injuries, there have been rumblings about the Celtics bringing in a veteran or two to help with depth.
Carmelo Anthony was specifically mentioned after the Gallinari injury, and the Williams surgery had names like LaMarcus Aldridge and Dwight Howard popping up. Other veteran bigs like Tristan Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside are also still out there. However, as of right now, it seems Boston is prepared to skip out on signing one of these high-profile veterans. According to Jay King of The Athletic, the Celtics are planning to add a young big man to compete for a roster spot in training camp after waiving Bruno Caboclo.
This would seem to signal Brad Stevens is comfortable with the frontcourt options for the time being. Al Horford is in place as the starting center, and the Celtics could then either turn to Jayson Tatum or Grant Williams as the starting 4. Boston has strong depth at guard to slide Tatum up to the 4 after acquiring Malcolm Brogdon in the offseason, with Derrick White and Payton Pritchard remaining in place from last season. Luke Kornet is the other center on a guaranteed contract on the roster.
Perhaps the Celtics' mindset would be different here if Williams' return timetable was much longer. But given he shouldn't miss too much time, Boston is apparently okay just taking a chance on another younger guy to fill in as depth for training camp and maybe even into the season.
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