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After an overall disappointing draft, the Boston Celtics and their fans are ready for free agency to begin on Wednesday. The dream scenario involves the Celtics landing a player like LaMarcus Aldridge, or possibly DeAndre Jordan. Given the team’s current cap space, they at least have the ability to target these high-profile free agents. Whether they are able to close the deal or not is another issue, but they will at least be in the conversation.
However, there are free agents who are more realistically attainable. These players may not be considered superstars, but they are very skilled and would certainly improve the current Celtics roster. One of those players is Tobias Harris. A restricted free agent, Harris is expected to seek a maximum offer that the Orlando Magic will not be able to, or won’t attempt to, match.
Along with the Celtics, the Detroit Pistons are expected to offer Harris near-max money. While Harris is one of the better young players in the NBA, he’s not yet worthy of a max contract; but that doesn’t mean the Celtics shouldn’t make him an offer.
Harris is expected to seek nearly $15 million per year. That seems like a lot for a player who has really been a starter in the league for one season. After he struggled to get minutes early on with the Milwaukee Bucks, Harris found his groove after being traded to the Magic. Since moving to Orlando, he has become a starter, improved his shooting and become a quality rebounder. It just so happens that the Celtics are looking for all three of these things in free agency.
Harris has become a reliable outside shooter. He shot a career-high 36 percent from downtown last season, along with an overall field goal percentage of 46 percent. The only other season where he posted a higher overall field goal percentage was in his rookie year when he took almost 800 fewer shot attempts. Harris has continuously improved his shooting which speaks to his work ethic, and the Celtics could use this shooting ability.
One part of Harris’ game that may get overlooked is his rebounding. His rebounding numbers don’t jump off the page — 6.3 per game last season — but sometimes you’re a product of your environment. Harris has been second only to Nikola Vucevic in rebounds per game for the Magic over the past three seasons. Vucevic has averaged over 11 rebounds per game during that span. Part of the reason why Harris’ rebounding numbers appear to be down is because he’s playing alongside a terrific rebounder.
Harris wouldn’t have that problem in Boston. His rebounding total from last year would have been third on the Celtics, despite having played in 14 fewer games than the team’s leader, Tyler Zeller.
Another thing Harris could provide is a go-to guy. He developed into a reliable scorer for the Magic, averaging over 16 points per game during his three seasons with the team. The Celtics need a guy who is willing to take, and make, shots throughout the course of a game, not just at the end. Had Harris not missed some time with injuries, he likely would have finished in the top 30 in the league in shot attempts last season.
The Celtics need that aggression on offense. Avery Bradley was the only Celtic who attempted over 1,000 shots last season, and Evan Turner was the next closest with just under 750.
Harris may not be the sexiest free agent, but he’s one of the more realistic options for the Celtics. His skill set would also be a great fit. Is he a max player? No. But with the projected hike in the salary cap for the 2016-17 season, teams will be more willing to overpay for free agents this year, knowing that it will not handicap them the following summer.
Harris alone isn’t the answer to all of the problems that the Celtics face, but he is certainly a start.
Derek McVay is a Boston Celtics beat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mcvay34, or add him to your network on Google.
