The Celtics, regardless of what they do this offseason, will not enter the 2025-26 season with major title expectations. That’s a big change compared to the past few years, where a deep playoff run was largely expected going into training camp.
But the C’s will need to shed payroll this summer as the roster will be different compared to the championship core. Jayson Tatum’s ruptured Achilles tendon will also keep him out for the foreseeable future. So expectations will be muted for the Celtics coming off an impressive four-year run where they went 233-95. Boston president Brad Stevens explained that title contention philosophy where it’s not feasible every year, but getting to that level again is the goal.
“I think the way that you say it is the North Star is to have a championship contender,” Stevens said last week. “And so you have to do what’s best to give yourself the best opportunity to do that when you can do that. So we just have to look at it all and decide how feasible that is on any given year and make sure that we’re making the decisions accordingly.
“But the reality is that we have a lot of good players. We’re in a unique situation. They’re all under contract, and obviously there are several basketball penalties that come with that amount of salary. So we just have to weigh it all and make those decisions, and I’ll have more clarity after we meet and talk and go through it.”
Ever since the 2022 NBA Finals run, the Celtics have been title contenders going into every year. The last time the C’s weren’t near the top of the preseason odds was that 2021-22 season, coming off a first-round loss to the Nets. It was a transition period back then as the Celtics really became Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s team over that time. It was a tough start, but the Celtics got all the way to the Finals as part of a spirited run.
The front office will need to reload in what’s looking like another transition year come next fall. While things could be different with Tatum healthy, losing a first-team All-NBA player is a tough blow. But Stevens has done an impressive job over the past few years to build what’s considered one of the most talented rosters in the league.
All Stevens can do is assemble the pieces going forward. He’s done exactly that ever since he took over as president of basketball operations. But going forward will be a new challenge that includes an ownership change. It’s shaping up to be a transformational offseason for the Celtics in multiple ways for that reason.
“I never put a ceiling on a group of players,” Stevens said. “Some years you put a group together that you think has a better chance than others, But we’ll see how it all works. But my goal is always and will always be to try to best position us to compete for championships.”