The Boston Celtics are getting involved in the offseason early. The team is gearing up to be aggressive once the free agency market opens up with the intention of getting at least a few big names on the roster for the future. After being briefly linked to a trade deal for DeMarcus Cousins, the Celtics are back to eyeing their original No.1 target Kevin Love who is officially available.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Love has informed the Cleveland Cavaliers that he will be opting out of his player option for 2015 and becoming a free agent on July 1. There is still the possibility that Love simply intends to re-sign with Cleveland like he has stated all season long, but there is a good chance he opts to head elsewhere as a number of teams are ready to schedule a meeting with the forward. Stein is reporting that the Celtics are looking to be first in line.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is reporting the Celtics are looking to create their own Big 3 with Love, Paul Pierce and Robin Lopez in free agency. That is certainly not a Big 3 anyone could have predicted but Boston reportedly likes the sound of it. The Celtics have been interested in Love for over a year now. They were one of the teams that tried to put together a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves before the Cavaliers won out. However, the addition of Pierce and Lopez is new.
According to Wojnarowski, Pierce is getting plenty of interest from the Los Angeles Clippers, but if Boston can land Love then he is in play to return to the Celtics, a team he never truly wanted to leave in the first place. Lopez will be an unrestricted free agent and is predicted to head out of Portland considering both LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews are expected to be gone as well. That would give Boston the elite big man they have been aiming to acquire while pairing him with the scorers in Love and Pierce.
The Celtics have the salary cap space to make those moves happen. They would likely try and put together at least one trade to create more space, but it is not an unrealistic plan for Boston. The team will first see what they can do in the NBA Draft. According to the Boston Herald, the Celtics are still in play to trade up into the lottery picks for a center or power forward. They have been eyeing everyone from Frank Kaminsky and Justise Winslow to Willie Cauley-Stein and Bobby Portis. The Celtics have set themselves up well to make positive roster adjustments this offseason and they plan on being aggressive to make it happen.
