It’s getting to the point with the Boston Celtics that free agents aren’t even hiding their interest in joining the team.
Fresh off a somewhat unexpected playoff appearance, the Celtics have a boatload of draft picks and plenty of cash to sign a max player, adding to what is one of the league’s better young cores.
Upcoming free agent Jared Dudley is one of the first to really campaign for a chance to join the rising squad, though he didn’t outright say he hopes the Celtics sign him. He spoke with Celtics Beat about the fit:
To be honest with you when you listen to people, a lot of these sports writers on your show are pretty accurate. I think I would be a pretty good fit for Boston in the sense that they need shooting. You can never have too much veteran leadership. They’re a team that’s obviously led by Brad Stevens who is a great coach and they’ve done well, but the key to a young team is developing that young talent. They have the number three pick here in the draft and you can never have (enough) people who know how to play the right way, know their role.
The question is whether Boston feels the same way. Dudley is going on 31 years old this July and has played with three different teams over the course of his last three seasons. He spent last year with the Washington Wizards and averaged 7.9 points, 2.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game on an average of 25.9 minutes.
Dudley’s fit with Boston hinges on how the team acts in free agency and the draft. If the team drafts a star small forward there isn’t much reason to add Dudley to the fray. Ditto if the front office pulls off a minor miracle and gets Kevin Durant to come to town.
Either way, Dudley is one of the first to reveal just how attractive of a destination Boston looks right now.
There’s zero chance he’s the last ahead of what looks like what should be a pretty productive summer for the Celtics.
