Boston Celtics NBA Rumors: Team May Have Found its Replacement for Aron Baynes; Al Horford Situation Still Unclear

Following the news that Al Horford might be parting ways with the Boston Celtics, fans have been wondering who’s going to take his spot. With the team taking in three guards and a forward in the recently concluded NBA Draft and sending off Aron Baynes to the Phoenix Suns, there’s a glaring hole in the team’s roster, Celtics Wire reported.

Now, reports are coming in that the Boston Celtics is eyeing Vincent Poirier of Kirolbelt Baskonia. The 25-year-old isn’t expected to fill the shoes of Horford as he’s likely going to be starting off the bench.

In 2018-2019, Poirier averaged 9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks in a 21-minute stretch. As of this writing, it remains unclear who will replace Horford or whether he’s going to leave the Boston Celtics at all. NBA pundit Bobby Marks provided some explanation what sort of deal the team is cooking behind closed doors.

“Horford coming back at a lower number ($20M range) with length (3 years) on the contract would allow Boston [Celtics] to have the full $9.2M midlevel and $3.6M bi-annual exception to use in free agency. C's are still under the tax if both are used and Rozier brought back,” Marks tweeted last week.

Meanwhile, the speculation that Kyrie Irving is headed to the exit is becoming more real following news that he’s been giving the Boston Celtics the silent treatment. Part of the reason for this is Uncle Drew parting ways with agent Jeff Wechsler and replacing him with Roc Nation.

There is a strong sentiment that Terry Rozier might be taking Irving’s spot as the point guard, with recently signed Max Strus providing support on the bench. Thus, the Boston Celtics starting five might look something like this: Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford. On the bench will be Strus, Poirier, Marcus Smart, with a possibility of Nikolaj Vucevic joining the roster as well.