Summer Prediction: Cs sign Biyombo to two year, approx $12mil deal

[Lucky17]

Yeah, there's really not been much improvement in his numbers over the course of his career.

I don't get why every offensively deficient but nominally defensive-minded backup C under the age of 25 languishing on someone's bench is a Ben Wallace in the making. Sometimes they are the next Joel Anthony.

[KCattheStripe]

Yeah, there's really not been much improvement in his numbers over the course of his career.

I don't get why every offensively deficient but nominally defensive-minded backup C under the age of 25 languishing on someone's bench is a Ben Wallace in the making. Sometimes they are the next Joel Anthony.

That's "Two-Time NBA Champion" Joel Anthony to you.

[jambr380]

I get both sides of the argument. There is a very good chance he ends up as a semi-effective role player on a regular team, just as he is now. But, there is also a chance that he ends up actually increasing his production with increased minutes (as LarBrd33 nicely laid out). That 'chance' is why he'll get a decent contract offer next season.

Potential is the key to the NBA - we sit and wonder why guys like Bass and B Wright can't fetch a first round pick even though it is extremely likely they will be more productive than the late 20s pick they would be traded for. For veterans, they are already a known quantity, but that pick could be the next Gasol/Jordan/Parsons, etc...clearly better than Bass or Wright.

[gpap]

I'd just like to hope and think we can do better in free agency than Bismack Biyombo.

[Eja117]

Hypothetically who is this late blooming Biyombo supposed to take minutes from? T Zeller? Nope. Sully? Nope. KO? Maybe. Bass? I guess he's probably on the way out. I guess Gigi is on the way out too.

So then we likely draft a big only Biyombo is blocking him, so our rookie has to go to the d league. Or we can draft at sf and put him behind Evan T, James Y, Jonas Jerebko, and Jae Crowder.

I'd rather keep our money

[BudweiserCeltic]

Hypothetically who is this late blooming Biyombo supposed to take minutes from? T Zeller? Nope. Sully? Nope. KO? Maybe. Bass? I guess he's probably on the way out. I guess Gigi is on the way out too.

So then we likely draft a big only Biyombo is blocking him, so our rookie has to go to the d league. Or we can draft at sf and put him behind Evan T, James Y, Jonas Jerebko, and Jae Crowder.

I'd rather keep our money

Biyombo aside, you're counting on Jerebko and Crowder to still be on our team next year?

[D.o.s.]

We need some more relatively bad big men. Good call.

[Eja117]

Hypothetically who is this late blooming Biyombo supposed to take minutes from? T Zeller? Nope. Sully? Nope. KO? Maybe. Bass? I guess he's probably on the way out. I guess Gigi is on the way out too.

So then we likely draft a big only Biyombo is blocking him, so our rookie has to go to the d league. Or we can draft at sf and put him behind Evan T, James Y, Jonas Jerebko, and Jae Crowder.

I'd rather keep our money

Biyombo aside, you're counting on Jerebko and Crowder to still be on our team next year?

At least as much as Biyombo.

[ssspence]

I'd just like to hope and think we can do better in free agency than Bismack Biyombo.

Since when does a single move like this dictate what else Ainge does? If bigger fish express FA interest in the Cs this summer, Ainge can trade Wallace with a pick to clear more space.

[D.o.s.]

While I'll stick with saying that Biyombo is a great example of a player that looks numerically better than he is, gotta give credit to him, he's a lot better than he was when he first joined the league.

Even if he is still the most offensively deficient player in the NBA.

[fandrew]

Ew. No. Give me some length please. Tired of tweener big men. Want a big man that can play on both ends of the court. Why does every other team always seem to be able to draft or sign or trade for a quality athletic Center lately but us. Agh.

>>that being said Zeller has been a revelation for us compared to what we had before him<<

[hpantazo]

If we are going to sign a low cost big man this summer, I would much prefer Alexis Ajinca over Biyombo. Much more potential there and offers something on both ends of the floor.

[LarBrd33]

Just calling it now. I have it on good authority the Cs org feels they can work him into a better, more rounded player, and therefore leverage his shotblocking ability more consistently. If they strike out on a marquee big man early in FA, look for this to happen.

2 years 12 mil might be low.   Article on bleacherreport yesterday says we should go after Biyombo and guesses that we'd probably have to pay 40 mil over 4 years:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2487399-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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

Working against us is that since March (when this thread was created), Biyombo had a bit of a breakout.  In 21 starts he averaged 27 minutes, 7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.8 blocks on 55% shooting and 65% from the line.   He got big minutes down the stretch with Jefferson out... might make it tough to get him without the Hornets matching.

Article from Hornets blog about Biyombo's performance:

http://www.atthehive.com/2015/5/23/8646137/2014-2015-player-report-card-bismack-biyombo

It took a while to get Bismack Biyombo on the floor (remember the #BringBackTheBiz movement?), but once he did get on the floor, he was quite efficient. Had he qualified, he would have finished...

    second in block percentage (6.3 percent)
    seventh in offensive rebound percentage (13.7 percent)
    eighth in defensive rating (99)
    thirteenth in defensive box plus/minus (2.

There were 19 games this season in which he played 20 to 29 minutes. In those games, he averaged 7.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, usually coming off the bench. When he did start, he had an offensive rating of 123. Post All-Star break, his free throw shooting, long one of his biggest weaknesses, showed dramatic improvement, as he shot 68 percent from the charity stripe. On field goal attempts within three feet of the basket, where most of a center's shots would be expected to come from, Biyombo shot 65.7 percent. Of the Hornets top five lineups based on +/-, Biyombo was a key part of three of those lineups.

He had career-highs in PER (15.2, fifth-best on the team), free throw attempt rate (.941, meaning he took almost one free throw for ever field goal he attempted), offensive rebound percentage (13.7 percent, just missing out on the top ten in the league in this statistic), offensive win shares (1.8, tied for best on the team), defensive win shares (2.2, tied for fifth on the team), win shares (4.0, fourth-best on the team. Are you catching onto the trend yet?), value over replacement player (0.5, sixth-best on the team), free throws attempted and made per game, free throw percentage

It is well known that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was the Hornets' most important player. Their record without him spoke for itself. If he is their number one Most Improved Player, then Biyombo is number two. Without Biyombo, this season, Charlotte was an abysmal 4-17. That's a winning percentage of just 19 percent.

[hpantazo]

I think it's insane that some people call Biyombo a late bloomer who hasn't played basketball for very long.
 
He actually began playing basketball at the age of 9 like most american kids, and has been a pro basketball player since age 14, so he must be totally maxed out on potential by now:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?page=Biyombo-110614

He is undersized (6' as a rim protecting center, and he is absolutely awful on offense. No way would I want to see the Celtics spend any money on him.

[LarBrd33]

I've liked Biyombo for a while.  I've been puzzled at what the Hornets were doing with both him and MKG.  It seemed they were dramatically better with both of those guys on the floor.  MKG finally turned heads this year with incredible defense:  http://www.atthehive.com/2014/4/22/5638116/a-look-at-why-michael-kidd-gillchrist-doesnt-get-defensive-player-of

And there was Biyombo sitting on the bench averaging 12 rebounds and 3 blocks per 36 minutes with 61% shooting...

I couldn't understand why they weren't getting minutes.  Their own fans couldnt' understand it.

It's clear that Charlotte is a very poorly managed/coached franchise. 

It's a shame, because before the Hornets widely considered MKG the "most important player on the team", there was a time when I thought trading Rondo for MKG, Biyombo and a draft pick was semi-realistic.