Terry Rozier, now 24 and in his fourth professional season, exploded onto the scene last year in the wake of Kyrie Irving's injury. He averaged 15.5 points per game in February and 17.2 points per game in March, and maintained those impressive numbers -- 16.5 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game -- in the postseason. He scored 20 or more points six times during Boston's playoff run.
Coming into the 2018-19 season, Rozier and the Celtics knew getting him minutes was going to be a challenge. With Irving and Gordon Hayward healthy, Boston's rotation is quite crowded. And thus far, Rozier has been getting the short end of the stick. Rozier's 22.7 minutes per game rank eighth on the team and he is currently the third guy off the bench. Marcus Morris' outstanding start to the season has also hurt Rozier's playing time.
And it's reportedly becoming a problem:
If the C's do have to trade him, there'll apparently be no lack of options. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania (subscription required), "at least seven teams have been monitoring Rozier’s status this season." The Phoenix Suns have "aggressively pursued" Rozier, according to league sources.
Although Shams reported "Boston appears content with its roster," Rozier will be a restricted free agent this summer . . . and he's in line for a big pay day. Boston will be forced to make tough roster decisions with the re-signing of Kyrie Irving and the pending paydays of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown lurking in the next few years. Charania estimates an offer sheet for Rozier would be "$16-$20 million per year (maybe more)."
Boston Celtics
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