The NBA offseason is all the time a possibility for groups to reshape their rosters. With the brand new collective bargaining settlement, there could possibly be some seismic shifts within the panorama throughout the league. So there’s an opportunity that the group the Celtics tip off with within the Fall may look vastly totally different than the one which simply misplaced within the Jap Convention Finals. Then once more, possibly not.
Generally the best resolution is to remain the course. Brad Stevens put this group collectively to compete for championships and so they completed 2 wins brief final 12 months and 5 wins brief this 12 months. Nearly all of groups within the league can be completely happy to modify rosters with Boston. So possibly simply giving them one other roll of the cube is the fitting selection.
Let’s pause to outline what “run it again” means. It means retaining the highest 8-10 gamers and filling out the again of the roster with draft picks or minimal wage guys. It means signing Grant Williams to a contract (or matching a contract he indicators elsewhere). If you wish to embrace buying and selling Payton Pritchard for one more unproven participant or perhaps a future decide, that’s wonderful too. It additionally possible means Danilo Gallinari returns from harm and makes his debut in a Celtics jersey. Oh yeah, and I suppose which means giving Jaylen Brown a supermax contract as properly.
Joe Mazzulla will likely be one 12 months wiser, he’ll have Sam Cassell and extra new assistant coaches (to be named later) to help him. He’ll even have a full offseason and coaching camp to arrange for the season. Perhaps he’ll discover the right combination and get everybody on the identical web page.
Tatum, Brown, and others will proceed to work on their video games over the summer season. The group should be certain Al Horford and Robert Williams don’t put too many miles on their wheels subsequent season. Maybe by leaning extra on Muscala, Kornet, and even Gallo in small lineups.
After all, the hazard is rolling out the identical gamers and seeing the identical errors made for one more 12 months. Probably losing one other 12 months of the core’s prime (and Horford’s coda). Additionally, I’ll absolutely disclose that I haven’t executed the mathematics on how a lot it will price to “run it again.” The stricter tax penalties don’t kick in until 2024-25, however there are tax issues this season as properly.
So what do you assume? Would you be in favor of working it again? Or would you be dissatisfied to see solely minimal modifications this summer season?
