Was Terry Rozier the missing piece for the Celtics this season?
In the eyes of one Eastern Conference general manager, the answer is “yes.”
Pressure is mounting on Brad Stevens
Longtime NBA reporter Sean Deveney of Heavy.com quoted an Eastern Conference GM who said the Celtics must bemoan letting Rozier leave in free agency three years ago.
“If they had kept Terry Rozier and let (Marcus) Smart run the show earlier on? There would have been some rough spots while those guys learned but that has to be a big regret. Just pay Rozier, there’s your sixth man, and make Marcus your starter. What a good combo that would have been. It is nice to see Smart develop but it probably could have happened sooner,” the GM said.
The Celtics could’ve used Rozier’s scoring in the NBA Finals, considering their bench tanked. Boston only got five points from its reserves in Game 6.
Rozier averaged 19.3 points per game this season in nearly 34 minutes of play.
But there are other ways to receive production from the bench instead of paying Rozier roughly $24 million annually. The Hornets signed Rozier to a three-year, $56.7 million deal in July 2019 and then extended him for four years at $97 million.
The Celtics picked up Derrick White last February to fill their sixth man role, and are paying him $20.5 million less than Rozier through 2024-25. White is also a superior defender.
It’s easy to be down on White following his abysmal Game 6 — he was an astonishing -26 -- but he showed up at other times in the playoffs, including Game 4 (16 points). He was also a difference maker on both ends of the court over the final four games against the Heat.
Rozier is a colorful character and occasionally explosive scorer. But he wasn’t the difference between the Celtics and a championship, despite what one GM may think.