The Boston Celtics are one of the more difficult teams to forecast for the upcoming free agency period. But new Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens may be leaning towards signing a few of his former players to bolster the team's bench depth.
For the moment, the Celtics' biggest free agency dilemma centers on whether they will push to re-sign Evan Fournier.
Boston is losing confidence in keeping Fournier, as noted by the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach. The team's front office simply has no aspiration to meet Fournier's hefty $19 million per season salary demand.
Thus, the Celtics are looking towards other avenues to improve their bench, such as by possibly bringing back Jeff Green.
Himmelsbach added that Boston is looking to bring in a player with “extensive experience” and sees that Green fits the bill with this need. Green notably featured under now-former Celtics head coach Stevens over the 2014-2015 season.
As Boston is also in need of size, the team is being linked with both Rudy Gay and Kelly Olynyk. The Celtics are well familiar with Olynyk, who spent a notable four seasons with the team as a key rotational center. On the other hand, Gay has strong ties to new Boston head coach Ime Udoka, which dates back to the latter's time with the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff.
Even after acquiring Josh Richardson from the Dallas Mavericks, the Celtics are still looking to revamp their backcourt depth. The report added that former Celtics guard Avery Bradley and longtime Spurs guard Patty Mills will be backcourt options for Stevens when free agency kicks off.
In essence, the Celtics will have plenty of options to further rejuvenate their bench unit, especially as they still hold a $5.9 million mid-level exception. As Stevens is well familiar with Jeff Green, Kelly Olynyk and Avery Bradley, reunions could be on the horizon for the team.