Report: Terry Rozier and Celtics unable to agree to extension before the deadline

A momentary buzz swept the internet when it was reported that the Celtics and Terry Rozier were negotiating an extension, and that buzz quickly died after it was reported today the two sides were most likely not going to reach an agreement on an extension by the October 15th deadline.

Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reported that Rozier was looking for a deal worth $20 million dollars and an opportunity to start, something that seems very unlikely to happen in Boston after Kyrie told the team and the fans he would be returning back to Boston and could be looking for a deal worth five-years, $189 million.

Rozier was excellent in last year’s playoffs averaging 16.5 ppg, 5.7 apg, and 5.3 rpg but he also only shot 40.6% from the field which included 34.7% from three. Before any team can commit big time money to him, Rozier will need to show he can be a consistent scorer. Otherwise, his lack of efficiency could raise some questions as to whether he’s an up and coming starter or a high-level backup that works best as a volume scorer. If he turns out to be the later, in such a loaded free agency class, teams may reconsider whether a player about to turn 25 is truly a point guard of the future.

If Rozier does start the year off on fire, the Celtics may choose to try and trade him while his value is at its highest. The caveat here is, as a team that’s competing for a title, Rozier arguably may provide more value this year even if he leaves for nothing, than assets that may have more long-term value but not enough present value to replace the production Rozier was giving on a nightly basis.

For example, the Suns have been reported as a team that may be interested in Rozier. If they were to offer a player like rookie Mikal Bridges, the Celtics would be getting a player who in theory is a 3&D player in the infancy of his rookie contract. If he can’t provide real value on a winning team until his 2nd or 3rd year into his contract, that decreases the Celtics’ ceiling in the short-term with no real promise of how much it’ll increase by the time he actually is ready to produce. Whatever deal becomes available from now till the deadline will have to balance favorably on the Celtics narrow line of present & future value.

Rozier recently signed a shoe deal with Puma and as one of the brands only back court players, the need to take on a bigger role is something that is most likely on his camp’s mind. To his credit, Rozier has done great job at saying the right things and appears to be open to playing a reserve role on a contending team with an understanding that a big deal is coming his way after a strong year. The real question will become what the Celtics chose to do once they see how all their pieces come together.