Lost in all of the offseason moves the Boston Celtics have made to slash last year’s salary is the fact that they have arguably the worst center rotation in the NBA. That’s after trading Kristaps Porzingis and having Al Horford and Luke Kornet leave in free agency.
That leaves them with a comically bad center rotation of Chris Boucher, Neemias Queta, and Luke Garza. That could sink their playoff chances next season, but they may have parted ways with a player who could have helped them.
Charles Bassey, although never signed to the Celtics, played for them in the summer league and showed a promising skill set that could have helped them next season. Bassey averaged a terrific 15.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.7 steals, and shot 70.4% from the field in three Summer League games. Instead, he remains unsigned and may end up playing overseas next year.
The Celtics opting not to bring him in, even on a minimum contract, seems like something they will soon regret.
The Celtics will regret not signing Charles Bassey next season
Bassey previously played for San Antonio and, when healthy, proved himself to be a reliable backup big man.
He wasn’t bought back, however, due to his failing to stay healthy, with him suffering two season-ending surgeries in his three seasons there.
He still flashed signs of his old self last season, particularly as a shot blocker and rebounder. He should also be much better, a full year removed from him tearing his patellar tendon, and he played well in the NBA Summer League, hinting that he has regained his previous level.
That makes the Celtics’ decision not to sign him all the more puzzling. He might not be a starting-caliber center, but on next year’s Celtics team, it’s hard to say that he couldn’t start for them.
The Boston Celtics could trade for a starting center next season
Don’t be surprised if they struggle next season with center being a big bugaboo. All hope isn’t lost, however. They could swap recently acquired guard Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vucevic in an expiring contract for expiring contract trade.
He’d be a big upgrade over the Celtics’ current crop of bigs and wouldn’t negatively affect their cap going forward.
Overall, the Celtics’ decision not to sign Bassey is strange considering that he would have been an upgrade over their current trio of centers. Instead, they may try to tread water at that position and hope that a starting-caliber center becomes available during the season.
