Potential Celtics Free-Agent Option Signs with Warriors

While the Celtics still have plenty of options for their 15th roster spot or final two-way vacancy, one intriguing young center is no longer available.

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As the Celtics weigh their options for whether to fill their 15th roster spot and or last two-way vacancy and how they might do so, it seems less likely than not that Blake Griffin will return for a second stint in Boston.

After signing Svi Mykhailiuk, the C's are $2.2 million below the second apron, per Spotrac. And while they've met with and worked out a trio of free-agent forwards, including Lamar Stevens, and hosted a former NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner, another intriguing option is no longer available.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Warriors are signing free-agent center Usman Garuba to a two-way contract. Inside The Celtics had previously floated the former first-round pick's name as a young big with appreciable upside who could be worth trying to develop in Boston.

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The Rockets selected Garuba 23rd overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. While playing time was hard to come by for the six-foot-eight Spaniard in Houston, averaging ten minutes per game as a rookie and 12.9 last season, the 21-year-old's physical tools are why Golden State wants to work with him.

Garuba has a seven-foot-two wingspan and moves his feet well, allowing him to not only defend power forwards and centers, but the potential is there for him to operate disruptively in drop coverage and even play up to the level of the screen.

And despite limited minutes last season, he grabbed 4.1 rebounds per game, showing the ability to contribute on the glass, ending possessions at one end and extending them at the other, snagging 1.6 offensive boards per contest in 2022-23.

It will be interesting to see how well Garuba takes to the Warriors' sophisticated system and what it does for his development. With the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement making the importance of finding contributors on team-friendly deals even more crucial, Golden State may have just found a contributor who checks that box.

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