What’s next for Celtics? Uncertain offseason looms after ugly playoff exit
NEW YORK To Jaylen Brown the Celtics -point elimination-game loss to the Knicks felt like death And in a way it was Boston s bid for immortality to become the first NBA gang since and the first Celtics squad in more than years to win back-to-back championships died Friday night in front of a ravenous crowd at Madison Square Garden The question now is whether an entire era of Celtics basketball died with it This season s roster was nearly identical to the one that secured Banner last June Unlike bulk NBA champions the Celtics were able to return their entire rotation including a starting five that took in a combined salary of million But the window for that high-priced star-studded group was inevitably going to be narrow With extensions for Jayson Tatum Derrick White and Sam Hauser set to kick in this offseason resulting in even more onerous luxury tax penalties under the NBA s collective bargaining agreement keeping this crew together for another year would cost around million between salaries and tax sanctions an untenable sum for any franchise especially when coupled with the athlete acquisition restrictions placed on second-apron teams like the Celtics That was true at the start of Boston s ill-fated playoff run which ended with a six-game second-round loss to New York that featured three second-half collapses followed by a - pasting It s even more undeniable now that Tatum will miss at least a notable chunk of the - campaign after rupturing his Achilles in Event and undergoing surgery a day later Changes are coming President of basketball operations Brad Stevens likely with input from from Wyc Grousbeck and new incoming majority owner Bill Chisholm must decide how sweeping those changes will be Related Articles Kristaps Porzingis Mystery illness during Celtics playoffs as frustrating as you can imagine Jaylen Brown sends message to Celtics fans after death of title defense Celtics pulverized in season-ending Match loss to Knicks Celtics shake up starting lineup for must-win Competition vs Knicks Jayson Tatum visited Celtics teammates ahead of Competition was in good spirits Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday the two players Stevens acquired last summer to push Boston over the championship hump are two logical bargain candidates though both carry concerns that could give other teams pause Porzingis who will be on a million expiring contract has missed regular-season games over his two Celtics seasons and was rendered borderline unplayable by a mysterious viral illness this postseason Holiday still is a valuable participant especially on the defensive end but he turns next month and is set to make more than million in each of the next three seasons including a member option for - Holiday also sat out games due to injury this season including three in the playoffs That was a trend across the Celtics roster Seven of their top eight players missed more games than they did in - with that group collectively logging more DNPs than the previous season The lone exception White who played in games and was the lone Boston starter not to appear on the injury statement during the postseason Hauser a core reserve whose salary is set to jump from million to million next season also could be on the commerce block Big men Al Horford and Luke Kornet are impending unrestricted free agents both should garner external interest after Horford remained productive at age and Kornet enjoyed the best season of his career The biggest unknown involves players like White and Brown Both are locked up for four more seasons and should be foundational pieces But they re also Boston s top pact chips along with dirt-cheap Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard If the Celtics don t expect to have Tatum in the fold for much or any of next season would they consider moving White or Brown recouping assets cutting down their payroll and treating - as a reset year of sorts with an eye toward returning to contention with a healthy Tatum the following year All options outside of trading a rehabbing Tatum could be in play this offseason We set a goal out head coach Joe Mazzulla announced after Friday s season-ending loss We didn t achieve that goal but that shouldn t take away for me from the mindset and effort that the players put in So we have a responsibility and ownership We didn t do it but the approach the process to it you can t ask for any more from the guys I thought they gave everything they had throughout the season Obviously we didn t achieve that but you can t take away from what they did This is the price you pay for trying to go after something and that s how it goes
