Brad Stevens has done it again.
The Boston Celtics are in uncharted territory as the team will be without star forward Jayson Tatum for an entire season for the first time since 2016.
Second Apron Hit Celtics Hard
In preparation for the upcoming season, it seemed to be the Celtics’ mission to get out of the second apron and back into smooth financial waters. But in order to accomplish that, it would require a dismantling of the 2024 championship team that Celtics fans fell in love with.
And that’s exactly what happened— the Celtics traded away key contributors Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, which cut their luxury tax penalty by nearly $210 million.
While the Porzingis trade to the Atlanta Hawks was more of a salary dump, Holiday’s departure to the Portland Trail Blazers netted a more than satisfactory return of Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks.
The addition of Simons adds more firepower to the already explosive Celtics offense, even without Tatum.
Last season with the Trail Blazers, Simons made 36.3% of his shots from beyond the arc while attempting 8.5 threes per game. That efficient shooting gels perfectly with the Celtics’ offensive system, which has been trigger-happy from three-point range since head coach Joe Mazzulla took the reins.
Boston even got a few assets from Atlanta in exchange for Porzingis, as the Celtics acquired Georges Niang and a second-round pick. Boston can choose to either keep Niang as a rotational piece off the bench or waive the 32-year-old veteran to shave off even more salary.
Celtics Likely Not Done Making Moves
In all likelihood, the Celtics are far from done making moves, as the team still needs to shed more salary to get under the luxury tax threshold. Who knows, with the assets the team still has, it’s even possible for the 2024 NBA champions to move up in the draft to acquire a lottery pick.
But despite what it looks like, the Celtics are not rebuilding. A rebuild won’t happen until Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown either have their jerseys hanging from the Celtics’ rafters or the duo is sporting a different team’s colors.
The Eastern Conference is set to be the weakest it’s been since LeBron James renamed Toronto to LeBronto. Giannis Antetokounmpo is mostly by himself without Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton will likely be out for the entire 2025-2026 season, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to prove their regular-season dominance can translate into the playoffs.
And with the way Brad Stevens and the front office are currently moving, Boston is positioning itself to still compete without their best player.
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