TheCeltics rumor mill is heating up with the NBA Draft less than one week away. Brad Stevens has plenty of options on the trade front (Jrue Holiday,Kristaps Porzingis) in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s injury and opportunity is also knocking for some young members of the roster. Let’s answer some questions about the future in this week’s mailbag. Send all future questions to brobb@masslive.com
Hi Brian,
Most trade chatter centers around how the Celts can shed salary and take back lesser players on shorter or lower annual value contracts. Any chance Brad zags and trades enough future draft picks to do a deal where they lower salaries but improve the roster? Trade Hauser plus x number of first rounds picks for Dereck Lively or Walker Kessler? Trade Derrick White and picks for Alperen Sengun? Basically trade for an established player still on rookie a contract.
One upside of the roster uncertainty and Tatum injury is Celtics future picks are probably worth more than they were a year ago .
Also wondering if you think Mazzulla is open to changing some aspects of how Celtics run their offense. Watching the speed and variation in approach the Pacers and Thunder are showcasing in the finals leaves me feeling like the slow, predictable Tatum centric offense the Celts have used would be a losing formula. Is Mazzulla going to just substitute Jaylen Brown into the Tatum role and continue to focus too much on mismatch hunting? Any chance they let Pritchard be a real point guard this year and be the primary ball handler? Hauser running around like JJ Reddick used to coming off picks to shoot 3s instead of just standing in the corner?
Thanks,
Steve
Let’s start with the trade stuff. The strategy you present is a fascinating one and it could work in theory, but only with certain player types. Finding a lower salary guy who helps the team next season doesn’t mean a lot if they are due a big contract in 2026-27. As long as the Celtics intend to keep Tatum/Brown/White under contract together, they aren’t going to have the flexibility to pay market rate for a pricy fourth option and still stay under the second apron.
With that said, if the calculus changes within that group (i.e. Brown gets dealt) that opens the door a lot more for the type of deal you mentioned. There is better upside for the Celtics futures pick long term in theory but suitors will be skeptical as long as Boston has All-Stars in their prime locked up for the long term.. If the Celtics find a player on a mid-level salary for a couple of years moving forward, that certainly may be the type of guy dealing a Porzingis or Holiday for with multiple first round picks attached. Whether that guy is actually available on the trade market is another matter.
On your coaching question, Boston’s offense is going to have to adapt next season a lot without Jayson Tatum available and I’m fascinated to see what Mazzulla and his staff will come up with. I don’t think Brown simply taking over the Tatum role is the answer. He’ll obviously get more shots but his playmaking/passing is a sharp step down from Tatum at this juncture.
What will benefit Boston a lot is playing faster with Brown and that’s something I expect to be a priority with whatever group is back here next year under Mazzulla. Pritchard certainly can thrive in that style as an uptempo ball handler that is a threat from anywhere on the floor. Brown has spoken a lot about how he likes to run. Derrick White thrives in that type of game as well. They are definitely going to need to be more spontaneous because the mismatch hunting won’t be as available next year with Tatum out and other starters potentially no longer on the roster (Porzingis, Holiday).
What type of role can we expect for Baylor Scheierman next season? Is he going to play no matter what or will it depend on who gets traded? — Adam
It took awhile for the Creighton product to look like an NBA-ready player last season but a standout performance in March certainly opened some eyes after his early season shooting struggles. Scheierman fell back to earth shooting-wise in April (32 percent) but definitely earned plenty of respect from the coaching staff and his teammates with his improvement late in the year.
With Tatum out for a large chunk of the year, it’s hard to envision a scenario where Scheierman doesn’t get minutes out of the gate, particularly if another guard or wing like Holiday or Hauser is also moved. Even if those guys aren’t Scheierman provides a lot of offensive versatility with his passing and willingness to shoot that Boston’s going to need in a revamped second unit. He’s likely going to get a chance to hone his game in Summer League next month but the door will be open for him to play rotation minutes next season as long as he builds on his late-season play this summer and in training camp.