The 2021-2022 Boston Celtics fell short in their goal to hoist banner 18 in the TD Garden after losing to the Golden State Warriors. However, every fan should view the season as a success given that the team had a record of 23-24 on January 21. The team enjoyed an unprecedented turnaround to win 27 of their last 33 games to become the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, the team beat preseason title favorites, the Nets, in a four-game sweep. They showed resilience and determination to beat the Bucks and Heat in 7 games when their season was on the brink. Despite the success of the past season, the team and management cannot rest on their laurels if they are to take the step of winning. In this article, we discuss the five keys as they prepare for free agency.
1. Going into the luxury tax: the Celtics management made the season last season that under no circumstances were they going to pay the luxury tax. The team ultimately made it under the threshold but a decisive stance may have cost the team its championship. In the Finals, Tatum looked worn down after a high volume of minutes exerted to get that far and the bench comprising of Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White combined to score 9 points in the last two games of the series. In the exit interviews, Brad Stevens confirmed that he received the green light to go into the luxury tax. He stated, “We’ve got the OK to do whatever we need to do.” Celtics fans will hold Brad and the owners to their promise to spend whatever it takes because teams rarely win the chip without going into the tax, and they can look to Golden State as the prime example. The Celtics’ biggest assets this offseason are the three traded player exceptions. The biggest is the Evan Fournier TPE for $17.1 million which expire July 18. The other two TPEs expire later in this season for $6.9 and $5.9 million. Therefore, the following points will provide suggestions on how the team can address its depth.
2. Bench scoring-its hardly unlikely the Celtics will be able to attract top-tier players because of the contracts currently on the books. The most they can offer a free agent is the mid-level exception. Therefore, I would rule out Bradley Beale despite his connections with Tatum because it would be crazy to sign a deal to lose over 30 million dollars less for the year. Not even Kyrie Irving was willing to do that. Therefore two realistic targets are T.J. Warren and Kyle Kuzma. Warren is a high-risk and high-reward signing because he had a lingering foot injury last season. However, reports indicate he is fully recovered, and when healthy in the 2019-2020 season, he averaged 19.8 points per contest on 53.6% shooting from the field and 40.3% from 3-point range. The Celtics could use the midlevel exception to bring Warren to Beantown. Kyle Kuzma is another option because last season, he led the Wizards in points and rebounds by averaging 17.1 points and 8.5 rebounds. Despite being young, Kouzma brings championship experience and is a capable defender. Acquiring one of these players will take the weight of Tatum and Brown to play heavy minutes.
3. Backup big man- Daniel Theis’s second stint was fairly successful because he gave the Celtics valuable minutes. However, as the playoffs continued, he became a liability to the team. The Celtics need to add depth because Robert Williams has proven to be injury-prone in the NBA and Al Horford is 36 years old. Three players that should be considered to fill the role are Derrick Favors, Jakob Poeltl, Mo Bamba, and JaVale McGee. Favors and Jakob could become available because the Thunder and Spurs are looking to rebuild their squads. Poeltl is the better offensive player averaging 13.5 points and 9.8 rebounds last season while Favors is better defensively. McGhee and Bamba would be cheaper backups but one provides physicality and athleticism to the team.
4. Shooter-the Celtics struggled in the Finals because during stretches in the Finals, the team went through slumps from the three-point line. The Celtics could add Kevin Huerter and Duncan Robinson to fill this role. Robinson fell out of the Heat because he struggled to defend but does shoot 40% from three-point in his career and dipped slightly to 37% last season. Huerter would be an interesting pickup because he has a sound all-around game with better defensive skills than Robinson and the ability to attack off the dribble. Ideally, the Celtics want players that can defend, and it will be interesting to see if they stick with this philosophy.
5. Back-up point guard-there have been some clamoring for the Celtics to sign or trade for a point guard to replace Marcus Smart. I am not a supporter of this view because the point guards available are not better or equal to the value that Smart brings to the team. I think it is more realistic to bring in a backup point guard. The team could look to acquire Austin River, a defensive-minded guard that makes good decisions and is streaky with his scoring. Another is Tyus Jones who made spot starts in place of Ja Morant last season but gave indications that he could run the offense efficiently. He is also a decent shooter with a 39% average from three-pointers.
Yes, there are decisions to be made but the Celtics will have good options available. However, they must be determined to add quality pieces and go into the tax to make this tea