Celtics Free Agent Addition Explains Decision To Sign With Boston

The Boston Celtics have shed a lot more talent than they have added this offseason. One new face that has arrived in town, though, is former Minnesota Timberwolves center Luka Garza, who signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the C’s in free agency.

The Celtics’ primary objective this offseason has been to shed salary in an effort to avoid the second apron of the NBA’s new salary cap. That led to Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis getting traded, with Luke Kornet (and likely Al Horford) departing in free agency.

Boston still needs players to fill out their roster, though, which led them to take a flier on Garza, a second-round pick from the 2021 NBA Draft. In the first four seasons of his career, Garza has struggled to earn consistent minutes, averaging just 5.6 minutes per game in 39 contests with the Timberwolves last season.

With the Celtics, Garza has a chance to earn a spot in their rotation, as their center rotation doesn’t look imposing. When explaining why he signed with the C’s, Garza revealed that the opportunity, combined with the franchise’s storied history, made it an easy decision for him.

“Obviously, the franchise speaks for itself, just the winning and the history, and I’m a big basketball junkie, so obviously the chance to put on that uniform and play for the Celtics is attractive enough,” Garza said, per Bobby Krivitsky of Hardwood Houdini.

“But obviously, there’s a lot of opportunity, especially in the front court, with the guys that we have. I think the front office and the coaches believe in me and what I can do. So I just saw that as really good for me at this stage of my career.”

In his limited minutes last season, Garza averaged 3.5 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game while shooting 49.5% from the field. In order for him to earn more minutes in Boston, he’s going to have to work on his three-point shot, as he hit just 27.8% of his attempts from behind the arc last year.

Garza certainly has upside, and he will have the best opportunity of his career to realize it with the Celtics. We’ve seen the coaching staff turn guys like Kornet into key contributors from out of nowhere, so maybe they can work their same magic with Garza moving forward.