Boston Celtics Offseason In Review
Trading down for Jayson Tatum, landing star Gordon Hayward and a series of trades and free agent signings inarguably made the Boston Celtics the Eastern Conference Offseason Champions.
In retrospect, the Celtics couldn’t lose this offseason, no matter what moves they were able to pull off. Simply based off the conference imbalance and the exterior circumstances engulfing their rivals, the Celtics’ championship odds would have increased regardless of Danny Ainge’s summer success.
Besides the Celtics, no other Eastern Conference team improved to the point where they are contenders. The Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards brought the band back together. The Miami Heat are still one or two pieces away. The Hawks drafted well, but are stuck in no man’s land with Dennis Schroder running the team, and the Pacers and Bulls both traded away their best respective player for 15 cents on the dollar.
Key Additions:
Draft — Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye
Free Agents — Gordon Hayward, Aron Baynes, Ante Zizic*
Trade — Marcus Morris
Key Losses:
Traded — Avery Bradley
Free Agents — Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko
Since the Cavaliers are doomed to a rocky 2018 campaign due to the uncertainty of Kyrie Irving and the domino effect of his unhappiness, the Celtics did not have to sign Gordon Hayward (they did), they didn’t have to bring over Ante Zizic to improve their frontcourt (they did), and they didn’t have to get 75 cents on the expiring dollar in the Avery Bradley trade (they did).
While the Eastern Conference teams challenging Boston took a step back, the Celtics took significant strides in the offseason by signing Gordon Hayward, taking a big swing in the draft with Jayson Tatum, trading Bradley — who could have walked at the end of the season — for Marcus Morris, and boosting the frontcourt with Ante Zizic and Aron Baynes.
After their Eastern Conference Finals loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston did some soul-searching. Too much of the time they relied on Isaiah Thomas making something out of nothing, and that is simply not sustainable in the playoffs. They needed another shot-creator to take the offensive load off “The Reason.” Gordon Hayward, arguably the biggest fish in the unrestricted free agency sea, fits the bill.
Boston was one of the worst rebounding teams in the league last year (26th in rebounds per game), so they targeted some large bodies in Aron Baynes and Ante Zizic. Zizic is raw, but has the potential to crash the glass with the big boys. Although Marcus Morris does not project as an above average rebounder, swapping Avery Bradley for him partially solves the Celtics’ wing logjam. Now the wings that will demand minutes are Hayward, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, with Morris likely playing primarily at power forward.
Projected Depth Chart:
- Point Guard: Isaiah Thomas
- Shooting Guard: Gordon Hayward
- Small Forward: Jae Crowder
- Power Forward: Marcus Morris
- Center: Al Horford
- Sixth Man: Marcus Smart
- Reserves: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Aron Baynes, Ante Zizic, Terry Rozier
With their additions, the Celtics truly go 11-deep. They have so much depth on the wings, it’s crazy. Some pundits point to their wing depth as a potential problem, since only two or three of them can play at the same time, so it will be tough for Brad Stevens to find adequate minutes for all of them.
That is a fallacy. In today’s NBA, you can never have enough two-way wings. Stevens will undoubtedly find ways to unleash the versatility and unique skill sets of Hayward, Crowder, Smart, Brown and Tatum. It might take some time to find out which combinations work and which don’t, but Stevens is one of the few coaches in the league who has the job security and confidence to experiment with lineups.
Best Offseason Move:
If the Celtics failed to convince Hayward to move on from Utah, the optics of the offseason would have been a disaster. They would’ve missed on Hayward, Paul George and Jimmy Butler despite having the ability to offer the most assets. They would’ve started the offseason with the highest expectations and walked away with nothing.
But Danny Ainge kept his ammo dry while also swaying a dynamic, sure-thing All-Star in the East to move to Title Town. The Celtics were the best regular season team in the East last year and they got substantially better this offseason.
Season Expectations:
With the Cavaliers taking at least a slight step back amid their locker room turmoil, the Eastern Conference throne is open for the taking. The Celtics are the obvious heir to the Cavaliers’ triannual crown, but it won’t be easy.
The Wizards, Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks will be right there with Boston in the race for the 1 seed and eventual bid to take on Golden State in the Finals.
Any LeBron James-led team should still be considered the favorite to make it to the Finals. He’s earned that much throughout his career. But the Celtics are right at his heels.
Win Projection:
Boston overachieved last year mostly due to Isaiah Thomas’s ludicrous season. He was superhuman. On The Little Guy’s back, the Celtics won 53 games and secured the top seed. While it is tough to foresee another 30-point per game season out of Thomas, especially coming off a significant hip injury, the Celtics will likely boost their win total.
Hayward (10.4 Win Shares in 2017) is worth a handful of wins alone. Jaylen Brown with one more year of experience under his belt will shore up the bench unit and provide two-way flashes of excellence. Rookie Jayson Tatum can score in a hurry, and no team will want to pick a fight with Jae Crowder and Marcus Morris.
Rebounding is still a cause for concern, but the Celtics should walk to a mid-50s win total in an especially weak conference. Their reasonable goal should be 57 wins, a four-game improvement from last year.
Offseason Grade: A-
The only reason they don’t get an A or an A+ is because of the 48-hour window when Phil Jackson lost his mind and it looked like Kristaps Porzingis was available. If Ainge could’ve Jedi mind tricked the Knicks into giving Boston Porzingis, the Celtics would have completely fulfilled their plan of building for now and the future; they would’ve acquired their absolute blue-chipper they have been stockpiling their assets for.
It is unclear whether Porzingis was ever actually on the trading block, but he is the type of player you empty the treasure chest for — a rim-protecting stretch center perfectly designed for the modern game.
Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum are outstanding additions, but Porzingis is a different breed. Boston is set to contend right now and still maintains their plethora of future lottery picks. As the great 21st Century philosopher Offset once said, “ain’t no complaints.”
