The Boston Celtics weren’t supposed to be a playoff team entering the 2025-26 season. Many people thought they would end up tanking. Not only because their superstar, Jayson Tatum, was dealing with a torn Achilles, but also because this 2026 draft class is stacked with talent. They quickly showed the league they were the real deal, finishing second in the Eastern Conference standings. Sometimes the regular season can hide some of the weaknesses that a team has. In the playoffs, that weakness was the lack of front court depth, specifically at the center position.
This was already a glaring issue for the Celtics heading into the season, as they lost Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet, and Al Horford in the offseason. Neemias Queta became the starting center and showed great improvement throughout the season. Luka Garza had his moments, and Boston went out and traded for Nikola Vucevic, who found himself losing minutes in the playoffs. Boston can approach this in many different ways, as they have the mid-level exception to use in free agency, or they can make a trade for a center of their liking.
A few free agent signings that could fit well are Robert Williams, Kristaps Porzingis, and John Collins. Williams and Porzingis have good chemistry with some of the players in Boston, as they have played there before. Collins adds a stretch five type of play style that Joe Mazzulla loves. A couple of trade targets that also make sense would be for Myles Turner and Onyeka Okongwu. They would be much harder to obtain than the other guys mentioned, but could be worth it. There have been rumors of Derrick White and Jaylen Brown being sent off in a trade, so it will be interesting to see what direction the Celtics take.
Boston’s lack of center depth was exploited in the playoffs against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Queta, Garza, and Vucevic all found themselves in foul trouble throughout the series. With Queta being the only real rim protector out of the three, Philly took advantage of that. The Celtics were viewed as one of the only teams in the league that could stand with the Spurs and the Thunder, and they never got to show that. With the right moves this offseason, Boston can be right back at the top of the league.
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