What veteran players might the Boston Celtics target with the taxpayer MLE?

Boston may elect to use this team-building tool on a veteran for 2021-22.

The Boston Celtics have a limited range of tools at their disposal to build a team for their upcoming 2021-22 campaign given their rising payroll and lack of cap space it will create as they almost certainly end up a taxpaying team. But one tool they can use to add talent in free agency despite such a likely status is the taxpayer or mini mid-level exception (MLE), which will come in at about $5.9 million next season.

We previously outlined how the Celtics might choose to use that tool to bring on youth that will fit the age curve of a young, rising team. But there’s at least as good of an argument for bringing on some veteran voices to help keep the locker room on an even keel after a tough season in 2020-21 led to some disappointing outcomes for Boston.

Let’s review some of the players who might fit such a description.