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Kevin Love's return to Cleveland may have robbed the Boston Celtics of their top free-agent target, but the C's aren't walking away from the first day of free agency empty-handed.
After prying power forward Amir Johnson away from the Toronto Raptors with a splashy two-year deal, Boston has locked up restricted free-agent swingman Jae Crowder with a five-year contract worth $35 million, according to RealGM's Shams Charania.
After being used sparingly with the Dallas Mavericks, Crowder was a revelation after being dealt to the Celtics in a mid-season trade centered on Rajon Rondo.
Crowder proved to be exactly the kind of gritty, relentless blue-collar player the Celtics have always prized. He played hard-nosed wing defense (even doing a serviceable job on LeBron James in the first round of the playoffs), hit the deck for loose balls, and scrapped his way to rebounds (averaging 6.9 per 36 minutes).
He put up 9.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per game for the Celtics, who went 31-28 after acquiring him.
