Terry Rozier should get the big-bucks in 2019

The Boston Celtics have been left thin for the past month or so, and because of it, some bench players have been needed to step-up.

And step-up they have.

Marcus Morris has dropped thirty-points or greater twice in the past seven games, and in that span is averaging 21.3 points on 53% shooting from the field. Marksman.

Jayson Tatum has put up 17.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest in the same time range, and at times has seemingly been the Cs' number one option, having been given the full-blown green light from Brad Stevens.

And, the 'Scary One', Terry Rozier has averaged 18.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in those games. Terry has started for the Celtics in each of the past seven contests, and has been the team's lead point-guard ever since Kyrie Irving checked-himself-out due to lingering knee soreness.

Rozier has now logged ten games as a starter this season, and has surely proven his ability to lead an offense with his versatile skillset. In his ten games as a starter for the Celtics, Rozier has averaged 18.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, which places him in an exclusive club with some prominent players:

Only LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and DeMarcus Cousins have dropped those types of numbers as starters this year. Those five All-Stars, plus Terry Rozier, are the only players in the league to average 18.9/6.6/5.0. That's in the entire NBA. Not too shabby for a guy who's played most of his career coming off of the bench.

Rozier is currently on the third year of his rookie deal, which means that his final season while under contract with the Celtics will be next season. Then, in 2019, he'll be a restricted free agent, and will be able to field offers from teams across the NBA.

The team's qualifying offer for Rozier is slated to be just over four million dollars, and I'm assuming that the price-tag on him will be greater than that number. So the question is: how much will Terry sign for in two seasons?

Well, let's see how his peers are being paid at the moment:

Of course, most of these players have earned themselves some clout that Rozier couldn't possibly have at this stage in his career, but still, the numbers don't lie. It's likely that he'll be coming off of the bench for the Celtics next season as well, having Kyrie and Jaylen Brown already slotted to run the back-court, so it'll be interesting to see if he can keep this production up to earn himself some street-cred in his contract year.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what tricks Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens will have up their sleeves in the coming year. At least one thing is known for sure:

Terry Rozier is the real deal.

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Photo: Celtics