Random Thoughts After Day 1 of Free Agency

 It's been an interesting off season so far.  The draft didn't go the way many expected.   The reports were hot and heavy that Danny was working hard to move up in the draft for any one of several players.   We expected at least a trade to bundle a couple of picks together but that didn't happen either.  So Danny picked 3 guards and a forward in the draft. 



Then,  leading up to free agency reports came out that Danny was going hard after Greg Monroe and Tobias Harris.  Well, that didn't happen either.  Danny signed Amir Johnson, who wasn't in any of the rumors leading up to the July 1 opening day.  Then he re-signed both Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko.

Tommy Heinsohn has to be thrilled that Danny "signed the Swede."   Over the last month of the season,  Tommy shouted many times his support for the Sign the Swede movement.  Even on the CSNNE draft day coverage,  he mentioned a couple of times that he hoped Danny would sign the Swede.  I think maybe Jonas reminds Tommy a little of himself as a player.

I was pretty happy that Danny is bringing him back.  His two-year, $10 million contract is a good deal. The second year is a team option and not guaranteed so that's great to keep their flexibility for next season and it gives Jonas a chance to earn that second year. I really liked Jerebko's hustle on the court. He pretty much always made things happen when he hit the court and he's just 28 with room to grow his game even more.

The Amir Johnson signing was a bit of a surprise but Danny doesn't often show all his cards when making a move. While everyone was looking at Greg Monroe, Danny slipped in and signed Johnson. While there are a few Celtics fans who didn't like the signing, probably because this wasn't the fireworks that they were expecting. But, the Johnson signing was definitely at least some sparklers. While many were expecting Monroe because of all the hype about him being the target leading up to free agency, taking into account length of contract and cost, Danny got a good player and retained a lot of the team's flexibility going forward.

Monroe agreed agreed to a three-year, $50M deal with the Bucks, including the player option on the final year. Yes, Monroe has better stats, but as I learned from watching Perk for years, stats don't tell the whole story. Johnson does a lot of things on defense that won't show up in the stats. Johnson is 6’9” and 28 years old, but he is coming off a a year with various injuries that affected his consistency. Johnson appeared in 75 games and averaged an efficient 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in spite of the nagging injuries.

Johnson's effectiveness was also affected by playing alongside of Jonas Valanciunas. When Johnson played center, the Raptors outscored opponents by 8.0 points per 100 possessions. However, when Johnson was on the court with Valanciunas, the Raptors were outscored by 1.1 points per 100 possessions. Johnson should thrive in a frontcourt featuring Jared Sullenger, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, or Jordan Mickey along side of him. Paul Flannery wrote a good article on Johnson in 2014 that shows Johnson to be a great teammate who does whatever it takes to help his team win. I highly recommend this article to get a good feel for what Johnson will bring to the team. He'll fit right in with this team.

Johnson is the guy who does all the dirty work on the court and keeps everyone in good spirits once the game is over. He's also the unlikely elder statesman for a young, impressionable team that is just beginning to find itself.

"He's consistent," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "The word ‘consistent' is what you get from him. Whether it's playing in the post, chasing around Durant -- you wouldn't know it by the numbers he put up -- but he did a good job working him. He can play down in the post. He's multi-faceted as far as being able to guard a lot of situations. He's one of our glue guys for our team and our franchise."

"It's hard to find a word to define what Amir means to this team," DeRozan said. "Amir, man, he plays extremely hard. Amir's played through injuries. The only thing Amir cares about is being there for his teammates. That's it. Nothing else. He doesn't care about how many baskets he scores. He just cares about being there for his team and whatever he can do out there on that court he's willing to do. It's rare to find a teammate like that."

And, Johnson's contract is two years with the second year not guaranteed. If Johnson bounces back from his somewhat down year last season and thrives this season, The Celtics have a bargain for the second year. If he doesn't, well then the Celtics still have flexibility next season. I say, that's a good deal. As for Monroe, he signed a 3 year contract worth $50 million with the Bucks. Reports are also that the Celtics are no longer in the running for Tobias Harris as the Magic is vowing to match any contract for his services.

My favorite move from yesterday's free agent bonanza is the re-signing of Jae Crowder for five-years and $35 million.  I consider it Danny's birthday present to me :)   He's the kind of hustle player who can make a big difference for a contender. With Perk gone, Jae became my favorite Celtic. Like Perk, he doesn't back down from anyone and I love that about him. I really like his hustle and his versatility. Great signing!!

As for the other free agent signings of note. Paul Pierce is going to leave the Wizards and go to play with Doc and the Nuggets. Doc is also considering signing Perk. I guess he yearns for the good old days of the Celtics because he wants to sign them all out in LA. Although I'm not a Doc Rivers fan, and I don't like Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, I'd be happy to see Paul Pierce get another title (Perk too, for that matter).

I was happy to read the reports that LaMarcus Aldridge wasn't all that impressed with the Lakers presentation. From the sounds of it, they stressed all the external benefits of playing in LA like the weather and playing with Kobe and things like that rather than the basketball side of it and Aldridge came away unimpressed. It looks like he will go with the Spurs or the Suns. He's also reportedly meeting with the Knicks but as David West said, if you want to sign with a contender, the Knicks aren't it. With the Spurs jettisoning Splitter to make room I'm sure they are really hoping he'll come there. However, any time the Lakers are dissed, I'm happy.

Now that free agency is well under way and Danny made his big splash with Amir Johnson, we may get one or two more minor signings, but I don't expect much more in free agency. The big names are already signed and I don't expect any big moves in free agency. But, I do expect Trader Danny to strike again and make a trade or two before the season starts. And now we turn our attention to Summer League and I can't wait. There was this on Twitter this morning to whet your appetite.

After one practice with Marcus Smart, RJ Hunter calls him a leader and said he communicates well on the court.

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 1, 2015

And speaking of Summer League, CSN will be televising 3 of the games while NBA-TV will televise all of them. There is also a Summer League version of League Pass available for 14.99. I, for one, am very excited to watch this bunch of kids compete. I like this group.

[Discuss on CG Forums!]