The Latest Celtics Rumors On Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant & More

The Boston Celtics are thought to be a superstar away from becoming a real contender in the Eastern Conference, and with plenty of cap space this summer, they are hoping to add that guy. Since they were unable to make a deal during the draft to land that superstar, they've turned all of their attention to free agency to do so. Here are all the latest Celtics news and rumors you need to know:

Celtics land meeting with Howard
Dwight Howard has set up meetings with the Celtics and Hawks, according to ESPN. Howard will meet with up to five teams, and a return to the Rockets is unlikely. The Celtics need center help, but they aren't going overboard to try to land Howard. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reports that the meeting is simply figuring out how much Howard is looking for - and they'll decide if they want to pursue him from there.

Regarding Dwight Howard, hearing that right now Celtics have no plans for aggressive pursuit. Will always listen to see if a price is right.

— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) June 29, 2016

Howard averaged 13.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game last season.

Boston to meet with Durant in NYC
The Celtics were one of the six teams to land a meeting with Kevin Durant, and we now know that will take place in New York City either this weekend or early next week, reports ESPN's Chris Broussard.

KD's meetings w/SA, Mia, Bos, LAC will take place over 1st few days of July. Knicks still being considered for a meeting, sources say

— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 29, 2016

Durant is meeting with the Thunder on Thursday before free agency starts on Friday, when he is schedule to meet with the Warriors.

Celtics give qualifying offers to Zeller, Sullinger
Though Boston is going after some of the bigger names on the market, they also have some of their own free agents to worry about. As such, they extended qualifying offers to both Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

According to league-related sources, Celts to give qualifying offers to Jared Sullinger & Tyler Zeller, making them restricted free agents.

— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) June 29, 2016

This doesn't necessarily mean that the Celtics plan to keep both players, but it does give them the option to match whatever offers they receive. That decision will likely depend on which big targets (if any) Boston manages to sign and how much cap space they have left.

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