Boston Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk is rumored to be drawing interest from his hometown squad Toronto Raptors as the incoming fourth year pro continues his rehab from shoulder injury.
The 25-year-old Toronto native underwent surgery near the end of last season to repair a nagging right shoulder problem. Reports said that he could return to the court next month although it is still uncertain if he could be available for the Celtics' first few games of the new season.
CSNNE's Sherrod Blakely noted that with this uncertainty, teams that are interested in trading for Olynyk had been hesitant "from inquiring about him too much" as it is not yet sure "how he will perform once he's back on the floor".
Still, the 13th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft "is very much a player to keep an eye on in terms of trade possibilities", according to Blakely.
The 7-foot, 238-pound center has high potential to be one of the league's best big men of the future because of his unique scoring and playmaking skills and teams are more and more becoming aware of that.
The only problem about Olynyk's game right now is his inability to consistently recognize the right plays whenever he has the ball, which is something most of the young players in the league really goes through in the beginning.
A few more years of experience will polish that weakness and teams who are willing to see him through it will eventually call Boston for the availability of the 2014 NBA All-Rookie Second Teamer.
Blakely then predicted that Olynyk's hometown team, the Raptors, could "recognize all those traits and try and convince the Celtics to part way" with the former Gonzaga standout.
Meanwhile, Sportsrageous reported that if Toronto successfully signed Olynyk, the benefits will not only be on-court but off the court as well because it will definitely "have some value in trying to please their fanbase".
The article also said that the Celtics have a deep frontcourt rotation at the moment and so they can afford to deal Olynyk and get the most value for him to balance their roster. At the moment, Olynyk is not even a starter at the four and five positions as those spots will surely be occupied by new signing Al Horford and 11-year veteran Amir Johnson.
Olynyk is entering his fourth season in the league and is set to enter restricted free-agency next summer.
