Celtics rumored to have signed top Euroleague guard...Shane Larkin?

David Pick (the Adrian Wojnarowski of Euroleague) of Basketball Insiders reports the Boston Celtics are poised to sign Shane Larkin.


Deal terms for Larkin have not been discussed, and Eurohoops writer Nikos Verlos (citing a source close to the player) believes the deal will be fully guaranteed and for $1.5 million. The move doesn't initially seem make sense beyond the lack of depth among ball handlers, currently reduced to just Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. However, when taking into account the fact that Thomas might still miss time at the start of next season due to his ongoing hip problems, this may be a more pressing need.

The main issue that has people scratching their heads is the fact that there is only one two-way roster slot left if Guerschon Yabusele is to join the team next season, which had been taken as a given by many. If Larkin were to join the Celtics, it seems very unlikely he would turn down over $6 million dollars to earn a base salary of $75,000 with a maximum potential of $250,000, and every other signing is for multiple years, guaranteed money, or both.


What's more, Larkin was not particularly impressive in the NBA (he put up 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists his last year in the league with the 2015-16 Brooklyn Nets), and his Euroleague numbers aren't eye-popping either (13.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 3 boards per game), logged playing for Basconia in Liga ACB, arguably the third-best league in the world behind the NBA and EuroLeague. They aren't bad, and he seems to be a great distributor, he's also still young (just 23) and can shoot the ball from three well enough, but he's almost as short as Thomas (listed 5'11), and a mediocre defender on a good day.

As it stands now, it seems the only solution is to continue stashing Yabusele, which could make sense if his surgical recovery has not progressed as fast as hoped, as losing part of a season of his rookie scale deal while he was unable to contribute might be seen as less attractive than ensuring the rotation of ball handlers was set up in case of other, surgery-related complications impacting Thomas.


More information regarding this rumored signing should soon be available, so check back often.

For more stories about the offseason on CelticsLife, click here. For more by Justin, click here.



Image: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke 
Data: Basketball-reference.com
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