What looked like a true NBA Finals threat is headed home after the first round.
It was a wild year for the Celtics in what was initially expected to be somewhat of down season as Jayson Tatum recovered from a torn Achilles suffered last May. Nobody told Joe Mazzulla and Jaylen Brown that, though, as Brown had a career season where he averaged 28.7 points per game and the Celtics wound up a contender in the Eastern Conference even without Tatum.
Tatum triumphantly returned to the floor in early March and looked as though he was his normal self. He averaged a 20-point double-double over 16 appearances in the regular season and Boston ultimately finished with a 56–26 record and earned the No. 2 seed in the East. Everything lined up nicely for Boston as it won nine of its last 11 games of the regular season with both of the Jays on the court. In a wide-open Eastern Conference, the Celtics looked like they had a chance to pull a rabbit out of the hat and contend for a title after they dealt without Tatum for the great majority of the season.
The momentum continued into the playoffs where Boston met the 76ers in the first round and quickly got out to a commanding 3–1 lead in the series. The Knicks struggled with the Hawks out of the gate and the eighth-seeded Magic got out to a 3–1 lead of their own on Detroit. Boston needed just one more win to get out of the first round, then anything could happen from there.
What happened next, though, was an utter disaster. Philadelphia won Games 5 and 6 as Boston’s offense sputtered while Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey continued to shine for the Sixers. That forced a decider at TD Garden where the Celtics needed to take care of business in front of their home fans to keep the title hopes alive. They were in the same scenario before when the two sides met for a Game 7 in 2023 and the C’s came out on top behind a 51-point performance from Tatum. This time around, however, things went differently.
Tatum was surprisingly added to Boston’s injury report on Saturday due to stiffness in his left knee. Mere hours before tipoff, he was ruled out with what the team called a left leg injury which left the Celtics to deal without the star forward one more time, just like they had for most of the season. Still, Boston had a chance with Brown leading the way and a great performance out of Derrick White who had struggled over the first six games of the series. Philly controlled Game 7 for most of the way, but the Celtics were able to pull within one point in the first quarter until Maxey took over and handed Boston a shocking first-round exit.
What looked like promising postseason momentum was only a disappointing exit, but the fact that the Celtics remained toward the top of the East this year is an accomplishment in its own right. For a historic franchise that’s won 18 titles, though, that’s not good enough. Now the Celtics must look ahead to next season and prepare for a full year of the Tatum-Brown duo that led them to a championship just two years ago.
Here’s a look at the upcoming offseason in Boston from free agents to the NBA draft and big decisions the front office could make to push for a title next season:
A look at the Celtics’ free agents this offseason
Each member of Boston’s core remains on the books for next season. Brown, White and Payton Pritchard are eligible for contract extensions, but the earliest any of those potential extensions would kick in is the 2028–29 season when Pritchard’s current deal expires.
In the immediate future, the biggest question surrounding the Celtics next year is in the frontcourt. Sound familiar to last offseason?
Neemias Queta had a career year as Boston’s starting center as he averaged 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in his first year as a starter. Queta’s increased role was out of necessity, but he turned into a big reason the Celtics thrived in what was initially thought to be a gap year due to Tatum’s absence. Queta has a $2.7 million team option for next season, a steal for Boston for a player of his caliber.
It’s a no-brainer to bring Queta back, the question is whether Boston picks up his cheap team option or works out a new deal to lock him down for the long term. Picking up the team option would send Queta to the open market as an unrestricted free agent next summer where he will certainly have suitors as long as his current play continues. Boston may elect to pick up Queta’s option due to tax purposes, but the risk of losing him a year from now could be big enough where the front office prioritizes a new deal.
Elsewhere in the frontcourt, Nikola Vučević is Boston’s only unrestricted free agent this offseason. He was brought in at the trade deadline as a rental to beef up the frontcourt for a run down the stretch and into the postseason. A fractured finger caused Vučević to miss time toward the end of the regular season and Queta’s play with solid support from Luka Garza off the bench allowed Boston to push through the absence and limited production with no repercussions.
At 35 years old, the next step for Vučević on any team is a continued bench role on a smaller deal. The Celtics likely could retain him for a fair price, but Brad Stevens will need to decide if the frontcourt of Queta, Vučević and Garza is enough moving forward.
Jordan Walsh is in a similar situation as Queta this summer. He has a $2.4 million team option for next season, but he’s outperformed that this season as one of the NBA’s better perimeter defenders. He should be back next season, but Stevens will need to decide whether he wants to work out a new deal with Walsh’s camp that would bring a deserved pay bump. It feels that Queta is the more likely of the two to get a new deal. Walsh is a strong piece, but rookie Hugo González has provided an impact defensively and could grow even more in year two.
The roster should look more or less the same unless Stevens decides to make a substantial trade—more on that in a moment—but Boston could try to add more depth off the bench, specifically in the frontcourt, in free agency once it decides what to do with Queta, Walsh and Vučević.
Here’s a look at each free agent Stevens will need to make a decision on this summer in one way or another, according to Spotrac.
Unrestricted free agents:
- Nikola Vučević (center)
Team options:
- Neemias Queta (center)
- Jordan Walsh (forward)
- Amari Williams (center)
- Ron Harper Jr. (guard)
- Max Shulga (guard)
Extension eligible:
- Jaylen Brown (forward)
- Derrick White (guard)
- Payton Pritchard (guard)
Boston’s Derrick White conundrum and other trade avenues
Without any pivotal free agents, you have to wonder whether Stevens will pull off yet another big trade. Last year, he sent Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons, who was then sent to Chicago at the trade deadline in the Vučević deal.
Looking at Boston’s highest-paid players, Brown and Tatum won’t be going anywhere, which leaves Derrick White as the only player making a considerable salary next year that the Celtics could move. White, 31, will make $30.3 million next year and two years from now, he has a $34.8 million player option for the 2028–29 season when he will be 34 years old. White has been a huge part of the Celtics’ success since his arrival in 2022 and he played a big part in Boston’s title run in ‘24.
He had a down year shooting the ball as he connected on 32.7% of his 8.3 three-point attempts over the regular season—his lowest mark since he became a Celtic. He struggled in the first-round series against the 76ers until a nice performance in Game 7 when Boston needed it most. In the first six games against Philadelphia, though, he averaged just 8.7 points per game and shot just 25.6% from deep. Now, you don’t trade one of your best players solely because of one down year. But, when you couple that with the fact that White isn’t getting any younger and Stevens may want to get his future salary—and specifically the player option—off the books to use that money to improve the roster, White heading elsewhere this summer is a possibility.
Sending out White isn’t the only avenue Boston can take in a substantial trade this offseason. There’s Sam Hauser’s $10.8 million salary and more notably, the C’s created a $27.7 million traded player exception for Simons as they brought in Vučević via a prior TPE created from its deal that sent out Kristaps Porziņģis according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith. The $27.7 million trade exception, which can be used to trade for a player or players with salaries adding up to that amount without adding to their cap and tax liabilities, is a huge chunk of change to play with should Boston choose to use it.
Can the Celtics bring in an impact player through the NBA draft?
The Celtics have drafted well the past two seasons although they have picked at the back of the first round. Last year, González was the 28th pick of the draft and the year prior, Boston brought in Baylor Scheirman with the 30th pick. Two players who have made an impact immediately on a contending team—something you rarely find at the end of the first round.
Even further back, Pritchard was the 26th pick in the 2020 draft and was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year just last season. The front office has proven time and time again that its able to improve the roster no matter the draft position. This summer provides the opportunity to do more of the same. The Celtics own the 27th pick in the first round, plus the 40th pick in the mid-second round in June’s draft. Those aren’t exactly top-tier draft assets, but if any team will hit on a prospect in that range, there’s a good chance it’s Boston.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Celtics Offseason Preview: How Boston Can Bounce Back After Shocking First-Round Exit to 76ers.
