Weighing Whether Celtics Should Sign Usman Garuba

Usman Garuba's a 21-year-old former first-round pick with considerable upside defensively.

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Monday, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced they're waiving former first-round pick Usman Garuba.

The Houston Rockets selected the six-foot-eight Spaniard with the 23rd pick in the 2021 draft. But playing time was hard for him to come by in Houston, averaging ten minutes per game as a rookie and 12.9 last season.

The Rockets traded Garuba and TyTy Washington Jr. to Oklahoma City earlier this summer, but both have gotten waived as the Thunder trim a roster that still requires them to part with three more players on non-two-way deals.

What makes Garuba such an intriguing option, despite only producing three points and 4.1 rebounds per contest last season, are his physical tools.

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He 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. Those attributes also make it possible for him to hold up on switches at times, though not the pick-and-roll coverage he's best suited for.

The ideal landing spot for the 21-year-old is a franchise where he'll receive more minutes, helping him refine his game at both ends of the court and speed up how quickly he diagnoses plays defensively.

It took Robert Williams years to process downhill attacks fast enough to evolve into an NBA All-Defensive Team caliber player. Garuba will have to earn his floor time, but if he's languishing on the bench like he did in Houston, it's unlikely he'll make meaningful strides in this area. That would increasingly dissuade teams from wanting to invest in his development.

So, as much as the Boston Celtics could do for the growth of Garuba's game, he'll be behind Williams, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Oshae Brissett, and may not prove more worthy of playing time than Luke Kornet, who performed well in his role in 2022-23.

Still, adding a young, versatile big man with a level of potential that warranted a first-round selection two years ago is an intriguing and inexpensive option for Boston.

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Furthermore, the Celtics must fill at least one of their two open full-time roster spots, are $4.2 million below the second apron, per Spotrac, and could utilize a portion of the $6.2 million traded player exception they created when sending Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks, to make the most lucrative offer.

But another factor in this equation is whether signing Garuba would signal Blake Griffin's time in Boston is over.

Recently, on Barstool Sports' Fore Play Podcast, the six-time All-Star spoke about his experience with the Celtics and left the door open for a return.

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Like Kornet, Griffin played well in his role last season, which often included stepping into the starting lineup for Al Horford on the back half of Boston playing in two tilts in as many days. Most notably, he buried 5/8 threes and generated 15 points in a February win against the Sixers.

The five-time All-NBA member is also a valuable voice on the sidelines and makes it fun to come to work. If choosing between him and Garuba, even while recognizing the latter's upside, Griffin provides more right now, factoring in more than what either does with their playing time.

And with Garuba unlikely to receive consistent minutes with the Celtics, barring injury, which could persuade Boston to trade for someone better than him, this might not be the organization where he converts more of his potential into production.

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