{"id":135174,"date":"2026-05-21T00:05:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/five-players-celtics-could-target-in-nba-free-agency\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T00:05:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:05:45","slug":"five-players-celtics-could-target-in-nba-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/five-players-celtics-could-target-in-nba-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Five players Celtics could target in NBA free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Brad Stevens\u2019 review of the 2025-26 Celtics roster could be summed up in three words:<\/p>\n

Not. Good. Enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough we did a lot of good things, we lost in the first round,\u201d Stevens said earlier this month in his end-of-season news conference<\/a>. \u201cAnd we were also 3-11 against the top three seeds in the West and the other top two in the East. So we\u2019ve got to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can Boston do that? In Part 1 of our offseason targets series, here are five impending unrestricted free agents who could fit the Celtics\u2019 needs this offseason.<\/p>\n

C Mitchell Robinson<\/h4>\n

The Celtics have a glaring need for frontcourt help, and there aren\u2019t many difference-making centers set to hit free agency. The best of the bunch is Robinson, whom Boston knows well from his eight seasons as a New York Knick.<\/p>\n

The scope of Robinson\u2019s skill set is limited \u2014 more than 90% of his career field-goal attempts have come inside three feet, per Basketball-Reference, and he\u2019s a notoriously terrible free-throw shooter \u2014 but what he does well, he does very well. Listed at 7-foot-1, he\u2019s a monster on the offensive glass and a top-tier interior defender.\u00a0This season, Robinson ranked in the 87th percentile among big men in block percentage, the 95th percentile in steal percentage and the 100th percentile in offensive rebounding percentage, per Cleaning the Glass.<\/p>\n

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla might not want two non-shooters at the top of his center depth chart \u2014 starter Neemias Queta has more range than Robinson but is far from a floor-stretcher \u2014 but bringing in Robinson would add some necessary heft to a position group that was outclassed in Boston\u2019s first-round series<\/a> against Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Queta has a team option for next season, Luka Garza \u2014 a solid shooter and offensive rebounder who struggles defensively \u2014 has one year left on his contract, and midseason pickup Nikola Vucevic is an impending free agent. The 35-year-old Vucevic was a healthy DNP in Game 7<\/a> against the 76ers, and Stevens\u2019 postseason comments suggested he is unlikely to return.<\/p>\n