Celtics Looking For ‘Accentuators’ During NBA Free Agency Period

BRIGHTON, Mass. — The Boston Celtics have a pretty solid roster.

In swinging a trade for Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics have built a roster that can go toe-to-toe with anyone in terms of talent. The only problem with having that much talent is the fact that Boston now has to pay for it, with Porzingis, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown all eligible for big-money extensions over the next 13 months.

The need to shell out so much money, though the Celtics claim to have no issue in entering the luxury tax, will undoubtedly have an effect on how Boston approaches the NBA’s free agency period, which begins at 6 p.m. ET on Friday.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has a plan, however.

“We want people who accentuate our group, and we’ve talked about that in the past, and last year’s team we had a lot of that.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens

“I think the biggest thing is wanting everyone who comes here to know what the ultimate goal is,” Stevens said. “We want everyone who is here and a part of this to know what the ultimate goal is, and that is to put all of our strings together and try to win it all.

“Every decision we make will be with that as the north star. It’s obvious that we have a great core of players that people will want to play with and want to be around, we just have to find the accentuators. We want people who accentuate our group, and we’ve talked about that in the past, and last year’s team we had a lot of that. As we sit here with who we have under contract, what our potential avenues are, I think we’ll be able to have that again.”

The Celtics likely aren’t going to swing any more blockbusters, but they have a few decisions to make.

Grant Williams, who has been the ultimate accentuator in his Boston tenure, was extended the qualifying offer and will be a restricted free agency when things open up. The 24-year-old will certainly receive a contract offer, which the Celtics will then decide whether or not they want to match.

In addition to that, there is a need for a bench guard and possibly another wing to round things out on the back half of the bench. Their exact desire is unknown, but at least we now know what the Celtics want in terms of the level of player.