The Celtics’ interest in Kevon Looney makes sense on paper. It also doesn’t really answer the question Boston still has to solve.
According to Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Celtics have Looney on their list of center targets in free agency, a group that also includes former Boston big man Robert Williams III. That tracks.
Looney brings championship experience, does the dirty work, rebounds well - especially on the offensive glass - and can defend multiple positions. He also spent 10 seasons with the Golden State Warriors before playing 21 games for the New Orleans Pelicans last season, where he averaged 2.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 14.7 minutes.
That said, Looney is the kind of addition that helps a roster, not one that settles the biggest issue. Boston still has to figure out who starts at center next season, and Looney doesn’t really look like the answer to that question.
He’d be a useful backup. He doesn’t need touches to matter, and he could help Boston deal with bigger frontcourt opponents - the kind of problem that showed up against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in the postseason.
But the idea that Looney is a championship-level starting center in the present day? That’s a stretch.
Even in his prime, that wasn’t really his role. The Celtics were up 2-1 on Golden State in the 2022 Finals before he was benched, and then the Warriors won the rest of the series.
If Boston does land Looney, it could end up in something close to the same position the Indiana Pacers were in after Myles Turner left last year: a committee approach with solid options, but no one you’d feel great about in a playoff series.
Neemias Queta still looks like Boston’s best internal answer. He’s coming off a career year and has shown he can play, but he’s not the kind of player who changes the ceiling of the team, and there are still weaknesses opponents can target. For now, the Celtics may be comfortable letting Queta keep developing, leaning on Looney’s experience and presence to help patch things up, and revisiting the position again next year.
It isn’t ideal. But right now, it may be the most realistic path Boston has at center.
In Other News...
Celtics May Have A Real Opening To Fix Their Biggest Need
The Celtics still have a familiar offseason problem hanging over them: finding the kind of frontcourt help that can raise the ceiling without forcing them to reinvent the roster. NBA insider Michael Scotto reported that Denver could be open to bigger changes this summer, and Boston has already been linked to a pair of Nuggets forwards who would fit different needs for a team trying to stay versatile at the top of the East. Cam Johnson would bring size and spacing, while Aaron Gordon offers the sturdier, more physical option that teams covet when the games get tighter.
Johnsons appeal is obvious because of his expiring contract and the kind of production that has made him one of the more movable names on the market, especially with several teams circling. Gordon, meanwhile, would give Boston a more natural answer at power forward and could even let Jayson Tatum slide back to small forward, which is the type of lineup flexibility the Celtics have been chasing. Whether Denver is actually willing to move either one is the part still worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Suddenly Loom Over One Celtics Shooting Threat After Giannis Move
Miamis trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo has shifted the conversation in South Florida from splashy star power to the far less glamorous business of filling out a roster. For a team that already has to think carefully about shooting around its new centerpiece, the search for help on the perimeter suddenly matters a lot more, especially with free agency approaching and the Heat needing more than just another name to keep the offense balanced.
Anfernee Simons fits the type of scoring and spacing Miami is likely to be chasing, and the possibility of a bigger role there makes him one of the more intriguing Celtics-related names to watch. If the Heat cannot bring back Norm Powell, the pressure to find another guard only grows, and Bostons view of the market could end up intersecting with Miamis roster math in a way that puts Simons squarely in the middle of it. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Rumors Just Reignited A Familiar Frontcourt Debate
Bostons frontcourt conversation has quickly turned from a short-term cleanup job into a familiar roster debate, with the club apparently weighing how to use its mid-level exception to bolster the middle of the floor. The appeal is obvious: one option brings the kind of steady, low-maintenance veteran presence teams trust, while the other offers a defensive impact that can change the tone of a game when he is on the court.
For the Celtics, the bigger question is less about whether help is needed and more about what kind of help makes the most sense. Boston watched its center depth get stripped down last season, then saw the position become a recurring issue when the games tightened up in the playoffs, so any move here will say a lot about how the team wants to balance reliability, health and upside moving forward. [Read more 🡒]