Bismack Biyombo Is the Most Underrated Free Agent for Celtics This Offseason
The Boston Celtics are approaching their most intriguing offseason in years. No clear path presents itself, and questions abound regarding how aggressive they’ll be in trying to construct a winner.
Still equipped with plenty of financial flexibility, future draft picks and a young roster coming off a miraculous run to the postseason, Boston can stay patient (roll over most of its cap space, re-sign most of its outgoing free agents and continue to ride the youth train), go all-in (spend money on free agents and trade young players or draft picks for veterans who fit head coach Brad Stevens’ system) or toe the line between these two options.
There's a good chance it opts for the latter.
Right now, Boston has $40.4 million in guaranteed salary on the books for the 2015-16 season, not including potential money owed to two first-round draft picks. According to Basketball Insiders, that leaves roughly $19 to 23 million of space to spend on free agents. It's enough for a max contract, and if the Celtics can land Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge or DeAndre Jordan, they should and will.
But several other teams have similar plans and max room, and all will circle the same exclusive group of talent. This doesn’t mean the Celtics should bow out of the race, but it does mean they should simultaneously focus on less desired, less expensive players who may give more bang for their buck.
There’s plenty of options out there, but none more appealing than Charlotte Hornets backup center Bismack Biyombo. This is the prototypical player Boston should go hard after: a young (he’s 22 years old!), under-the-radar restricted free agent whose best days are in the future.
What more? Biyombo’s skill set is exactly what the Celtics need. He’s quietly one of the best shot-blockers in the league and could evolve into the defensive anchor they sorely crave. The only players who posted higher block percentages last season were Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside and John Henson (with a minimum of 1,000 minutes), per Basketball-Reference.com.
According to Synergy, in a small sample size, Biyombo held opponents to just 0.55 points per possession in isolation situations. That placed him in the 95th percentile. His numbers when defending the post were less impressive but still sturdy (55th percentile). Last year, the Hornets allowed 98.7 points per 100 possessions with Biyombo on the floor and 102.0 when he sat—the difference between the second- and 12th-best defenses in the league.
Hornets head coach Steve Clifford praised Biyombo in January, speaking to ProBasketballTalk’s Dan Feldman: “He’s very bright. The reason why his plus-minus is so good is he does what we do. He knows what’s supposed to happen, and he actually helps other guys play, too.”
Not all is wonderful, and weaknesses will be discussed at length in a bit, but how probable is it that the Celtics can even get him? Biyombo is restricted, after all, giving the Hornets the right to match any offer sheet. But if Al Jefferson opts into his player option, that puts him, Noah Vonleh, Cody Zeller and Marvin Williams in Charlotte’s frontcourt next season.
Quite the crowd.
Furthermore, this is a team in need of three-point shooting and a breathable attack. Biyombo shot 54.3 percent last season but has no offensive game to speak of.
The danger of restricted free agency is that it forces teams to overpay for the players they want, but there’s a strong chance that Charlotte passes if Boston general manager Danny Ainge slides in near a four-year, $40 million deal. Matching that number isn’t impossible, but it’s hard to see Charlotte doing so with a smile on its face, especially with Vonleh waiting in the wings. (More importantly, it’d also push the team closer to the approximate $81.6 million tax threshold.)
After Jefferson came aboard two summers ago, Biyombo’s playing time took a major stumble. He averaged only 19.4 minutes per game last season and 13.9 before that. There hasn’t been room or space for him to develop in a Hornets uniform, and that won't change if the franchise center opts into his player option.
The 6’9” Biyombo has physical characteristics that can’t be taught. His wingspan is a pterodactyl-like 7’6”, and he’s the rare center who's quick enough to chase smaller ball-handlers on the perimeter. Rim protection will always be valuable in the NBA, but big guys who can't do much else on defense are severely less useful than those who switch on screens 30 feet from the basket and hedge pick-and-rolls with quick enough feet to recover back to the paint. It’s a bonus and adds to Biyombo’s value.
Defense is great, but the other side of the ball is problematic. Wording it nicely, Biyombo’s offensive game is a dire work in progress. If he can’t crash the paint off a high screen, suck help in or rise above ground-bound defenders to smash lobs through the rim, then it’s hard to envision his ever playing more than 30 minutes a night, regardless of how good his defense is.
He's athletic enough to become a miniature version of DeAndre Jordan but doesn't come close to matching Jordan's hand-eye coordination.
Opponents don’t have to guard Biyombo. He shot 65.7 percent within three feet of the rim last season and well under 30 percent when beyond an arm’s length away. He turns it over a ton and has terrible hands. More often than not, passing him the ball is a mystical journey with a tragic ending.
But he impacts the boards and was ninth in offensive rebounding percentage among players who logged at least 1,000 minutes last season. The Hornets grabbed just 20.3 percent of their own missed shots with Biyombo on the bench but 25.9 percent when he played. That first number is worse than the 30th-ranked Atlanta Hawks, but with Biyombo, they nearly ranked in the top 10.
He isn't hopeless, but there's much work to do.
Tyler Zeller is the only traditional center on Boston's current roster. While he's more than useful as a rim-running offensive weapon, Zeller leaves a bit to be desired as a paint defender. He's smart but doesn't deter shots or scare guards looking to attack the rim.
The Celtics need another option. Throwing a ton of money at an unrestricted free agent like Kosta Koufos, Omer Asik or Robin Lopez is one alternative, but Biyombo is the better investment. He's cheaper, he's younger and he fits better into Boston's timeline. Ainge should make an offer.
All statistics are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com or NBA.com unless otherwise noted.
Michael Pina is an NBA writer who lives in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelVPina.
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