The Boston Celtics are setting up for a big summer in 2015, as the team has a ton of money to spend in free agency and reports have the team targeting names like Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Love, Greg Monroe and Marc Gasol on the free agent market and this comes after the team traded Rajon Rondo this season and has the chance playoff spot in the east.
The Celtics are expected to have over $30 million in cap space this summer and they will be there with the Lakers and Knicks as the teams with the most money to burn. Danny Ainge has put together a strong group of young players for Brad Stevens with Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk and now the team could look at making some bold moves this summer.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the team is "likely" to make a restricted free agent offer to Kawhi Leonard, as he will be on the RFA market for the Spurs this summer. While it's very unlikely that the Spurs will let him go, there is a chance that the Celtics deal could price them out. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes that with Leonard back healthy this season, numerous teams are likely to give Leonard an offer sheet and the Celtics are included in that.
Leonard is strong defensively and has shown some growth on the offensive side of the ball and that could open him up for some major offers. The Spurs and Leonard did not get a new deal done before the deadline this past season and now he likely will be a main target once the summer starts. Leonard is an RFA along with Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Brandon Knight and those names also could be options for the Celtics.
The biggest potential free agents on the market include Kevin Love, Marc Gasol and Greg Monroe along with LaMarcus Aldridge and Rondo, but the Celtics likely will not chase Aldridge or Rondo (duh). The team has had reported interest in Kevin Love, but no one is even sure that he will opt out of his contract with the Cavaliers. Monroe has been mentioned as a target by Pro Basketball Talk if the team misses out on Gasol, as he is expected to remain in Memphis.
Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart is a strong backcourt for the Celtics and if the team adds a Leonard or Butler to the mix, they could be contenders in the wide open east. The Knicks and Lakers also will be chasing those top names, so the team will have competition. Trading Rondo was a smart move, as he has shown in Dallas that he may not be the superstar point guard that everyone thought he was, but either way, he had to leave Boston. The team has a replacement for him and they also feel like they can use the money they would have spent on him in other places.
