Agreeing to re-signing Jonas Jerebko was step one of the Celtics’ plan to retain its key free agents.
Locking up restricted free agent Jae Crowder is step two.
Shams Charania of RealGM:
RFA Jae Crowder has reached agreement on a five-year, $35 million deal with the Boston Celtics, league sources tell RealGM.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2015
This is a nice value signing for Boston, and it will only look better as the salary cap skyrockets.
Crowder’s defensive versatility is key in Brad Stevens’ system. Crowder has the strength and tenacity to defend in the post, and he’s probably more natural covering on the perimeter. He’s more raw offensively, but he can handle the ball and knock down jumpers.
At 24, Crowder has shown plenty of promise and production, and his best days are probably ahead of him. Ideally for the Celtics, he’ll grow into a larger role as their financial commitment to him shrinks relative to the salary cap.
Because Crowder has a cap hold of just the minimum salary, Boston will probably delay officially signing him until using the rest of its cap space.