The Celtics must deal with the offseason sooner than expected, and they’ll have multiple questions to face.
Boston was eliminated in the second round after the New York Knicks throttled Joe Mazzulla’s side in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday. The Celtics will always have the 2023-24 season, but Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury clouds the franchise’s future.
New owner Bill Chisholm wasn’t dealt a great hand with Boston’s payroll expected to exceed $500 million, which would put it above the second tax apron for the second year in a row. This is important because of the basketball penalties. The second apron prevents the Celtics from aggregating contracts sent out in a trade, using more than 100% of the traded player exception, sending out cash, using a preexisting trade exception and signing a player waived that had a salary of over $14 million.
Those restrictions are why teams let good players walk, and Boston will have to do the same. To do so, they’ll have to answer these four questions.
Does Boston trade Jaylen Brown?Alright, this would be dumb. But it’s important to get ahead of the narrative. The idea of trading Brown would be to acquire short-term assets, and quite frankly, bottoming out in a season that Tatum is expected to miss most of. It’s hard to fathom Boston actually doing this. The C’s still can be good enough to make the playoffs, and Brown has the talent to be a legit No. 1 guy. There’s no reason to panic and break up the Jays.
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How do you retool the roster?Tatum, Brown and Derrick White are expected to be the foundation of the Celtics since they’re on long-term contracts. That leaves Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Sam Hauser as the odd men out. Trading Porzingis’ $30.7 million contract would get Boston below the second apron, but there aren’t many teams that could take that salary. It’s why the C’s might need to take some high-priced contracts in and part ways with Hauser and Holiday.
Which free agents stay?Al Horford and Luke Kornet are set to enter free agency. Horford reportedly has no plans to retire, but can Boston afford to keep him? Kornet had an excellent season, and the Celtics could face stiff competition if the big man received a hefty contract. It feels unlikely either stay, which is why the C’s need to address their frontcourt depth.
How do you handle the NBA draft?Luckily for Mazzulla’s side, they have two first-round draft picks. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens has found value in the draft, so picks No. 28 and 32 aren’t that bad for them. This is the best way for Boston to fill out its rotation with cheaper options and hope that they develop into legit NBA players.