The Boston Celtics need to trim their roster before opening night. Right now, there are too many guaranteed contracts on the books. But who should be cut and who should stick?
Perry Jones might be the odd man out. The forward has exceptional size and physical gifts, but he's a free agent next season and the Celtics already acquired an asset from the Oklahoma City Thunder to take his contract on.
In essence, he's already served a purpose. But Jones can bring something to the table nobody else can, writes MassLive's Jay King, and that makes waiving him before seeing what he can do such a dicey proposition:
"One problem with potentially waiving Jones: largely an unknown commodity, the 23-year-old theoretically possesses a load of untapped potential. During his time with the Thunder, James Harden called Jones 'probably the most athletic (player) on the team' -- while the team featured Russell (bleeping) Westbrook -- and Kevin Durant labeled Jones the best athlete in the league. The 6-foot-11 Jones is a long, versatile wing who has strung together some impressive stretches on NBA courts, and there's a chance he could look substantially better in Brad Stevens' system. This is a guy with tools."
What if Jones blossoms into an All-Star in Boston? What if he finally puts it together, with Stevens pulling strings, boosting confidence and putting Jones in a position to succeed every time he steps on the floor?
None of this is likely, but at the very least it's conceivable. See how hard Danny Ainge's job is?
(h/t: MassLive)
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