What’s Next For Celtics?

Credit: bostonspiritmagazine.com

Well that didn’t go as planned. If you haven’t heard by now, the Boston Celtics were recently eliminated in the second round of the NBA playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks in a five game, best-of-seven series. A disappointing, early end to what was supposed to be a year where the team campaigned for a championship.

Despite having the same roster of players that nearly led the team to the NBA Finals just last year with returning star caliber players who missed the playoff run with injury in Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, the team got…worse…

Something just felt off with this team all season long, and it showed in their overall record for the season at 49-33, a far cry from what was expected of them going in. This was a product of regressive features that reared their ugly heads throughout the year: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier all taking a step back in their collective and individual developments as players and sacrificing opportunities on the court in favor of the aforementioned returning stars, one of those stars struggling to develop a strong chemistry with the other players on the team (Irving), and the other (Hayward), looking like a shell of the player he once was. You can also put blame on Brad Stevens for not taking charge of the room or making the proper adjustments to allow the team to achieve further success. Whatever you choose as the biggest culprit of Boston’s disappointing season, the reality is that there were several factors that culminated into what this year became for them.  

I mean, It’s not like they completely collapsed and missed the playoffs. They did go on a small run, land the fourth seed in the eastern conference, and sweep their way through the Indiana Pacers in the first round to get as far as they did. By all means, the Boston Celtics had a good season. Just not the season we, nor they, expected them to have. With that expectation from us, the public, and from themselves as a team to be great, they will likely look back at this season as a failure, and rightfully so.

Credit: basketball.realgm.com

So now, with Boston done for the year, there only remains the question of what happens next. Kyrie Irving enters free agency this summer, and given the underachievement this season, he may be more inclined to take his talents elsewhere for the next phase of his career. If that turns out to be the case, it may not be the worse thing for Boston considering the levels of success they were once able to achieve in Irving’s absence. However, it may also not turn out to be the best thing for them either, because well… he’s Kyrie Irving. He isn’t exactly the easiest player to replace. When Irving does make his decision, though, the Celtics will be left with two options:

If Irving returns as he intended to do at the season’s open, the Celtics should go all in on acquiring Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, and in general, reconstructing the team in a way that’s more suitable for Kyrie. If AD falls out of the picture, then I would recommend inquiring about his teammate, Jrue Holiday, Wizards guard, Bradley Beal, or Pistons center man, Andre Drummond, to name a few. Legitimate veteran stars who can play a helping hand in Boston’s bidding for a championship for the next couple of years. While the younger players already on the team (Tatum, Brown, Rozier) have an equal amount of potential to do that, they each have room to grow as players, and their development can be subject to delay if they were to stick around in Boston where they would be forced to play second fiddle to Irving, as opposed to the previously mentioned star veterans, who are already made players that Irving would be more inclined to share the ball and work with due to their standing as individual players in the league.

Credit: basketballsocietyonline.com

If Irving leaves in free agency, as many of us expect at this moment in time, then Boston should place their focus on continuing to develop the youth on the team, and using their draft capital and veteran pieces to compliment them moving forward. I would expect Al Horford to either re-sign or opt-in to the final year of his contract this summer, Gordon Hayward to be back next season a little better than he was this year, coming off the bench, Marcus Morris to be re-signed, and especially if Irving leaves, Rozier to re-sign long-term with the team as their starting point guard for the future. Barring miraculous results from next week’s draft lottery, the Celtics will have possession of Sacramento’s, Los Angeles’ (Clippers), and their own first round pick, with a slight chance of landing Memphis’ pick as well. With that, they will be in position to add more young talent to the roster with the hope that the players selected will eventually compensate for the loss of Kyrie Irving. All of this is just for me to say that even though things look bad at the moment, the Celtics are not a lost cause if their all-star point man were to leave in July. In fact, it’s possible that all Irving’s decision will do is distance Boston’s championship aspirations from coming to fruition sooner rather than later.     

      

In the immediate wake of Boston’s exit from the NBA Playoffs, it feels like a foregone conclusion that Irving will be leaving, but in the end, we don’t know what he will decide on July 1st. We can only speculate until we get there. What we do know for sure is that wherever the Celtics are headed towards next, it all begins with Irving’s decision in free agency. Should be an interesting offseason for the C’s.           

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