With all due respect to Evan Turner, the Boston Celtics have come a long way over the past three years.
Boston historically has had a very difficult time attracting elite free agents, with Turner arguably the team’s best signing (excluding trades) since Danny Ainge took over in a general manager role in 2003.
But after Ainge landed Al Horford and Gordon Hayward in consecutive offseasons, the perception of the Celtics as a free agent destination has changed considerably. That’s according to an ESPN poll of 48 NBA players, who were asked which team they’ve heard makes the best pitches to free agents. The most-answered club: Boston.
Here are the results, per ESPN.com:
Celtics:Â 27 percent
Miami Heat:Â 15 percent
Los Angeles Lakers:Â 12 percent
Golden State Warriors:Â 9 percent
Other:Â 37 percent
Apparently the city’s unparalleled professional sports success helped its cause. When asked to explain why Boston tops his list, one Eastern Conference guard replied, “If you bring Tom Brady? That’s pretty damn cool.”
The New England Patriots quarterback famously joined the Celtics in their free agent pitch to Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016. And while Durant chose the Golden State Warriors instead, the C’s landed a nice consolation prize in Horford, arguably the next-best free agent on the market.
A year later, Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens helped lure the NBA’s top free agent in Hayward, further establishing Boston as a legitimate attraction — and that was before Kyrie Irving’s arrival from the Cleveland Cavaliers later that summer.
It’s unclear what plans the Celtics have for 2018 free agency, but considering this team won 25 games just four seasons ago, fans should feel very good about Boston’s standing in the NBA landscape.
