Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens in front of the media. (Photo : Getty Images/Darren McCollester)
The Boston Celtics will have plenty of salary cap space, a handful of draft picks and expendable young players. However, there is still a chance that the Celtics will not land any superstar via free agency or trade.
According to Boston.com, Boston is not known as a destination for free agents due to the cold weather, high taxes and a scrutinizing fan base. The Celtics have missed out on a lot of big name players in free agency in the past 20 years including Shaquille O'Neal in 1996, Tracy McGrady in 2000, LeBron James in 2010 and Dwight Howard in 2013.
However, the report pointed out that the Celtics are not known to pursue superstar free agents due to a number of factors. Boston had an emerging star in Paul Pierce in the early 2000s and they had a big three from 2008 to 2013.
The Celtics were also over the salary cap from 1997 to 2015 so it's unlikely that they can sign a superstar free agent. However, the times have changed and the team with the most NBA titles with 17 has a clear plan heading into this year's offseason.
Sources told The Vertical that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge will be very aggressive in free agency and make a run at Oklahoma City Thunder superstar scorer, Kevin Durant. However, Ainge knows that their current roster is not appealing to Durant as a winning situation unlike with the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.
Nonetheless, the Celtics are expected to go after Atlanta Hawks big man Al Horford first then acquire a star using their draft picks and young assets. Boston has a 15.6 percent chance to land the first overall pick in this year's NBA draft and a 46.9 percent chance to land a top-three selection.
The Celtics also have two other first round picks this year as well as the 2017 and 2018 first-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets. On the other hand, some of their tradable young players include Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, James Young, R.J. Hunter, Kelly Olynyk, Tyler Zeller and Terry Rozier.
The likely target for Boston will be Chicago Bulls two-time All-Star, Jimmy Butler, who they tried to acquire at the trade deadline. The Bulls and the Celtics had a deal in place but Boston shelved the trade due to the inclusion of Jae Crowder.
If the Celtics land Horford and Butler to play with 2016 All-Star Isaiah Thomas, they will have a big chance to land KD this offseason. Boston also has Brad Stevens, one of the best young head coaches in the league.
Check out the video below for Durant's latest game in Boston this season.
