Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin provided a veteran presence off the bench last year, yet there’s no guarantee he’ll be

back in Beantown this season.

According to Brian Robb of MassLive, there’s been little talk of a new deal for the unrestricted free agent. Instead, the six-

time All-Star could be headed to another team in the 16th season of his career.

“It’s been eerily quiet on the Blake Griffin front since the season ended,” Robb wrote. “Brad Stevens made no mention of him

in any of his press conferences and that could be a signal the team is moving on.”

As of now, the C’s have one open roster spot, but they could create more room by waiving someone near the end of the

rotation. Griffin is a vocal veteran with plenty of experience as a rebounder and a gritty defender, and while his numbers last

season weren’t remarkable, he became a fan favorite for his passion and occasional ability to turn back the clock.

The 34-year-old has been through a lot in his career, as he’s suffered multiple knee injuries that hindered his meteoric rise.

He’s far from his prime, yet after losing key defensive guys like Marcus Smart and Grant Williams, Griffin’s return would be

a welcome sight for many Celtics fans. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be back in green next year, but it can’t be completely

ruled out yet.

“For now, the Celtics may want the roster flexibility to consider other additions knowing that Griffin is available as a backup

plan for another true big,” Robb wrote. “The team probably isn’t ready to commit guaranteed money to him though until

other alternatives are ruled out.”

Wherever Griffin ends up next year, hopefully he’ll be able to compete for his first NBA championship and end his

impressive career on a high note.

READ MORE:

2 trades Wizards still must target in 2023 NBA offseason

No team has been busier this offseason than the Washington Wizards. The Wizards have been involved in six(!) trades this

summer, the most notable of which was sending franchise player Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns for what eventually

netted Jordan Poole, Landry Shamet, Ryan Rollins, Patrick Baldwin Jr., a 2030 protected first-round pick from the Golden

State Warriors, six second-round picks and four first-round pick swaps from the Suns. Kristaps Porzingis opted into his

player option and was dealt to the Boston Celtics in a move that saw Boston trade away Marcus Smart to the Memphis

Grizzlies. The Wizards also moved up one spot in the draft to select Bilal Coulibaly. Needless to say, the Wizards have been busy.

But there are still moves for them to make.

Steady hand

Lost in the hullabaloo of Boston trading Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis was the fact that the Washington Wizards

got Tyus Jones as part of that trade. Tyus Jones is good! He’s maybe the steadiest point guard in the entire NBA; his career

assist-to-turnover ratio is +5.57. Last season, he ranked in the 79th percentile of all pick-and-roll ballhandlers in the regular

season according to NBA.com by generating 1.28 points per possession on such possessions. He had plenty of suitors, but

the Grizzlies dished him to Washington to facilitate their acquisition of Marcus Smart.

The thing is, Tyus Jones is good. The Wizards are going into tank mode and want to be bad. They also have a glut of point

guards on their roster still, even after dishing Chris Paul (to Golden State) and Monte Morris (to Detroit). And Jones is on an

expiring contract with a $14 million cap number. It’s a number that pretty much every team can get to. With the direction

the Wizards are going, it wouldn’t make much sense to re-sign Jones to a big number or for Jones to re-up with a team that’s

going backward before going forwards. It isn’t a matter of if the Wizards trade Jones, but when.

Wizards trade candidates

The when could be at the trade deadline when every team has a better gauge of who all is going for a title push and will pay

more of a premium than they would right now. Perhaps the Wizards would wait until then, but they should take calls on

Jones now anyway. One team that reportedly was interested was the Los Angeles Clippers, who badly could use a table setter

at point guard that can also take and make shots to spread the floor for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. If their pursuit of

James Harden goes awry, Tyus Jones would make for a nice consolation prize.

The team that should come back to the negotiating table with the Wizards for Tyus Jones’ services is the Boston Celtics. It’s

unclear why they didn’t target Tyus Jones in the Kristaps Porzingis for Marcus Smart trade initially but they should.

Boston’s offense already had a tendency to get sluggish for sustained periods of time in the playoffs and that was before they

traded the best passer and/or connector on their team in Marcus Smart. Boston’s offensive numbers all look fine, but those numbers were streaky.

According to ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry, up until Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics were 8-2 when

they made at least 12 threes in a game, and 0-5 when they didn’t. Not only does that speak to a rigidness in an offensive

system, but a void in ability to create and make shots in a different variety. Tyus Jones would help in that capacity big time.

For a team as close to a title as Boston has been in recent years (five conference finals appearances in the last seven seasons

and one Finals appearance), paying up for a huge upgrade at point guard would be a big help (when they can on August 22).