Boston Celtics: How the Potential Addition of Mickael Pietrus Could Aid the Team

With the tragic loss of Jeff Green for the season due to an aortic aneurysm, the Celtics have been scrambling to add another small forward to the roster before the start of the regular season.

Already facing depth issues in the front-court, the loss of Green certainly does not help in any way, as more minutes will be shifted to Paul Pierce, who is already ready nursing a sore heel heading into the compressed season.

The Celtics may be able to catch a break, however.

According to a league source, as reported by Comcast Sportsnet's A. Sherrod Blakely, Mickael Pietrus, recently waived by the Phoenix Suns, is "leaning heavily" toward signing with the Celtics once he clears waivers.

Pietrus, an eight-year veteran who has played for the Warriors, Magic and Suns, was expected to be traded to the Toronto Raptors until the deal was nixed due to swelling in his knee.

Barring future health issues, Pietrus would be a great addition to a Celtics team struggling with depth in seemingly every area. At 6'6" and 215 pounds, Pietrus can very easily come off the bench for Pierce and provide a solid scoring boost on the wing. He may be an eight-year veteran, but he's still only 29, which means he's still got quite a few miles left in him if he stays healthy.

If he does come to Boston, he'll need to step up his game beyond his current career average of 8.5 points per game, especially if Paul Pierce's heel injury requires to miss regular season time.

Overall, Mickael Pietrus would be a good addition to this Celtics roster, but he'll only be really useful if everyone is healthy as well. He can provide relief to Paul Pierce off the bench, but I can't necessarily see him ever being a consistent starter.

Ultimately, depth is always welcome on an aging roster, and that's just what Mickael Pietrus would provide.

How many games will this actually buy the team? Only time will tell.