Celtics have an obvious buyout candidate hiding in plain sight

The Boston Celtics will look different this season, especially after they swapped out Jaylen Brown for Paul George. They also brought in some new faces to the group, one of which is veteran point guard Mike Conley who is now entering his 20th season in the NBA.

Conley will be fighting for point guard minutes off the bench, but the reality of the situation is that the Celtics should not have him high on their pecking order for playing time. If that indeed ends up being the case, the one-time All-Star could end up being a prime addition to the buyout market later down the road.

Mike Conley is an obvious buyout candidate for the Celtics

Boston brought Conley in as an addition veteran voice, but the latter is not viewing this as a partnership for the sole purpose of lending his experience to the team. He wants to play and get out there on the floor, and while he may see minutes from time to time, the Celtics should not default to him.

The team has younger guys like Baylor Scheierman, 26, and Ron Harper Jr., 26, who would benefit from more minutes this coming season. Conley has an unerring advantage when it comes to experience, but at this point in his career, he is no longer a viable rotation guy for a team with title aspirations like Boston.

Even if he does not play much, Conley will have value for the Celtics as a locker room guy. However, if he wants to play, he could very well end up negotiating a buyout with the team to sign with another club in the thick of the playoff race.

Even right now, that is already looking like a probable outcome. As long as the Celtics have an ample pool of options in the backcourt and Conley views himself as still being worthy of consistent minutes, he will likely end up in the buyout market.