A potentially franchise-altering offseason lies ahead for the Boston Celtics.
After a devastating first-round series loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston must decide whether to keep its core intact or begin a new era of Celtics basketball. NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics insider Chris Forsberg laid out three paths for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens – Path 1: small tweaks to the roster, Path 2: an uncomfortable middle road, and Path 3: breaking up superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Path 3 has already been rumored to be under consideration. Boston is among the teams linked to Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in trade rumors, and such a deal almost certainly would require shipping Jaylen Brown out of town.
Do Stevens and the Celtics need to make such a drastic move, or should they run it back with largely the same group plus a healthy Jayson Tatum? Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated joined Friday’s Early Edition to discuss which path he’d take.
“I don’t see a real reason to overreact to a bad playoff loss given what this season was supposed to be,” Mannix said. “I mean, the expectations coming into the year were extremely low. They wind up winning 56 games, having a better offensive rating this year than they did last year.
“Yeah, it was an ugly way to go out against Philadelphia, and obviously, they have some needs to address if they want to be considered a championship contender, but they’ve got the core of a championship-contending team. They’ve got two superstars that know how to play with each other. They’ve got a second star who elevated himself this year into that first tier of players.”
Brown stepped up in Tatum’s absence, leading Boston to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. When Tatum returned, it was like he had never left. The Celtics’ star tandem picked up where it left off before Tatum’s injury and appeared ready to make a run at Banner 19.
Then, they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Sixers.
Despite that devastating result, Mannix looks at this year’s Eastern Conference champions as a reason not to make any drastic decisions.
“I think looking at the New York Knicks is a great example of why you want to keep things together, because one of the reasons the Knicks are playing in the Finals right now is because of their chemistry,” Mannix said. “Jalen Brunson has been around for four years. Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, two or three years. They’ve built chemistry over multiple years and they’re playing and succeeding as a team.
“The Celtics have done it even longer with this group, and I would love to see them go out, try to find a big man, try to find a little bit more depth in the backcourt, and then run it back next year with a healthy Jayson Tatum and a vastly improved Jaylen Brown.”
Boston enters the offseason with a glaring need for frontcourt help. It could also use a playmaking guard and a another reliable scoring option for when Tatum and Brown need a breather.
Stevens has a massive $27.7 million traded player exception at his disposal, as well as a $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Both will be useful as the Celtics look to upgrade their roster, but if they go the trade route while keeping the Jays together, one name to monitor is Derrick White.
White, a Celtic since 2022 and a key member of the 2024 championship squad, is owed $30.34 million for the upcoming season. The three-time All-Defensive selection is one of Boston’s few trade chips that could bring in a significant haul.
Perhaps a big-man upgrade and other improvements on the margins will be enough. But as opportunities arise in the offseason, Stevens will have to seriously ponder whether a major change is best for the franchise’s future.
