It’s been a near consensus this summer that the Boston Celtics had a rough offseason and will take a step back during the 2025-26 campaign.
David Aldridge of The Athletic said on Tuesday that the Celtics have had arguably the worst summer in the NBA, ranking the team 29th in his offseason rankings. The Golden State Warriors received an “incomplete” ranking, due largely to the unknown status of forward Jonathan Kuminga.
“The rankings are based on one question: How much better is a team going into next season than it was at the end of last season? And that means assessing how much a team improved, either via trades, free agency, the draft or some other way,” Aldridge wrote. “Boston blew up its championship team; it is not as good going into 2025-26 as it was a year ago.”
For what it’s worth, the veteran sports journalist pointed out that his rankings weren’t a “predicted order of finish for next season” and the main question he focused on was “is the team better now than at the end of last season?”
“The second apron ran like a scythe through the Celtics’ dreams of an extended run atop the East. While Boston awaits Jayson Tatum’s return, likely for the 2026-27 season, it will have to figure out who will ride with Tatum, (Jaylen) Brown and (presumably) Derrick White going forward,” Aldridge wrote. “Is (Anfernee) Simons part of the retooling, or will he be flipped for more payers and picks? (Luke) Garza isn’t without offensive talent, but he’s a couple of steps down, obviously, from KP. (Hugo) Gonzalez projects as a solid if not spectacular wing. It’s going to be bleak in Beantown for a minute.”
Story continues below advertisement
Among the biggest offseason changes in Boston were the trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and the additions of Anfernee Simons, Georges Niang and rookie Hugo Gonzalez. Niang was then traded by the Celtics in early August, just one month after being acquired by the team.
Boston hasn’t missed the playoffs since the 2013-14 season, but unless the core of Brown, White and Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard stay healthy and can carry the load, that streak may end in 2026.