The Boston Celtics have continued to be aggressive this offseason in adding depth to their squad. Last season they pushed the eventual champion Miami Heat to 7 games in the Conference Finals despite an already-thin roster which got even further depleted by injury.
Once free agency started, the Celtics lost Ray Allen to those same Heat in free agency and will likely be without young guard Avery Bradley for a good chunk of the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery. To counter this the Celtics signed former Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry with the midlevel exception and today agreed on a sign-and-trade deal with the Houston Rockets for guard Courtney Lee. The Celtics are to ship JaJuan Johnson (their first round pick last year) and two unguaranteed contracts (E’Twaun Moore and Sean Williams) along with a 2nd round pick to the Rockets, in exchange for Lee, who will receive a 3 year deal starting at $4.25 million.
Terry will replace (and arguably upgrade) Allen’s offensive contributions, while Lee is a solid defensive player and a reliable 3 point shooter (40% from 3; almost 50% shooting on corner 3 pointers) who will be a more than capable replacement for Bradley while he recovers from his injury. Once Bradley returns the Celtics will boast an impressively deep guard rotation consisting of Rajon Rondo, Bradley, Terry and Lee, and this in conjunction with their moves to bolster the front court (drafting Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo, and re-signing Jeff Green) will give the Celtics great depth and versatility.
