With the Boston Celtics’ season ending earlier than expected heading into the playoffs, we get to take an earlier look at what their offseason might include. Although this Boston team should feel disappointed with how their season ended, they were not supposed to be in this position in the first place. Everyone had written them off as soon as Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles, and key pieces from their championship team were traded to get under the first and second aprons. This team was supposed to be tanking, a “gap” year is what people called it, and they still won 56 games.
Not bad for a gap year, but with how things were shaping up, and how fast Tatum came back, their expectations skyrocketed. They were seen by many as the favorites to come out of the East with Tatum back. Ultimately, that doesn’t happen, and they blow a three-to-one lead in the first round of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. The first three-to-one lead that the Celtics have ever blown. This team can do many things, such as bringing back the core of the team, and bolstering its depth, particularly in the center position.
They could do this by making smaller trades in the offseason, signing a big man in free agency, or even lucking out in the draft and getting a center you like. Boston doesn’t have a high draft pick, so doing this will require some major luck, and effective scouting. The most likely answer would be in a trade or in free agency. Or, they could take a huge swing at another superstar. Someone like Giannis. Making a trade like that would be costly, especially for a roster that is already paying $50 million or more for Tatum and Brown. Rumors have already started, and Derrick White could be the odd man out.
No matter what this Celtics team decides to do, they should be in a great position to win with JT and JB at the center of it all; they are one of, if not the best, duo in the league. Anytime you have a foundation like what Boston has built over the past decade, and have had the success that they have had, you have to continue to trust it. Whether Brad Stevens makes smaller moves around the edges or goes all in for a big-name player this offseason, we’ll have to wait and see. One thing is for sure: the move will be made to win because Boston knows no other way.
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