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Brian Windhorst
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ESPN Senior Writer- ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010
- Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years
- Author of two books
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Tim Bontemps
For a few years the Boston Celtics floated on an enviable ride. Overachieving on the floor, they blissfully approached a fork in the road with both paths sunny and inviting to the horizon.
They had a growing roster of rising stars playing alongside some of the greatest free agent signings in team history. And there was this awesome collection of draft picks still ready to use -- the Celtics used to pass out an info sheet at offseason press conferences listing them like a venerable restaurant presenting its wine list.
And the franchise had smartly and covertly plucked a remarkable young coach from college, Brad Stevens, who had won a steady stream of praise.
So which would it be? Convert all those draft assets for a star forcing his way to the trade market via sign-and-trade? Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant or someone of this stature, naturally. Or let young players grow along with the stars who'd been acquired while using the draft picks to get even more young players?
Either option seemed like a plan for success.
That was then. Now the Celtics were just eliminated in the first round of playoffs by the Brooklyn Nets. After such a slog of a season, there was almost a relief it was over. That once rosy future suddenly has darker skies and a bumpier road.
The Celtics became famous for having trade talks for stars but not closing the deal -- president Danny Ainge equally became known for teasing how close they were in interviews. Their reputation was damaged when Isaiah Thomas played through a career-altering injury and then was traded, and several star players walked away in free agency.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are fantastic young player. The Celtics acquiring the picks to get them, holding them and developing them, is to be commended. They're even signed to contracts that both protect the Celtics and give the franchise flexibility. Those are surefire wins.
But those two have become the exception. It looked like the Celtics were set to become a juggernaut, but instead they've seen a talent and asset drain.
Recent draft picks haven't panned out, and assets once desired for stars eroded. Stevens, who seems to have frustrated or alienated some of his stars with a rigid offense, has been taking incoming fire for his decisions and strategies.
The Celtics aren't the Minnesota Timberwolves or Sacramento Kings -- Boston has made the conference finals in three of the previous four years. This season they undoubtedly paid a tax for a short offseason, their reward for having advanced deep in the Orlando bubble.
But this was a year of regression. As they look around at the war chest of talent the Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks have built, a once lofty and enviable position seems like it has stagnated.
More to the point, they no longer have a myriad of options. They don't have cap space, and it isn't even clear how much they can spend as ownership tugged the reins this season, holding the team out of the luxury tax when center Daniel Theis was dumped at the trade deadline. It isn't assured they will even re-sign their midseason pickup, Evan Fournier, who is a free agent this summer.
With Tatum and Brown understandably untouchable, the only trade piece they have of real value is Marcus Smart. He happens to be one of Ainge's favorite all-time players and fills one of the most desired roles in the league, a vicious defender on the perimeter. Smart is also due for a contract extension. The notion of trading him while getting better at the same time is a major challenge. Given the amount of attrition suffered in recent years, Boston might want to avoid having Smart enter free agency.
Kemba Walker, their replacement for Kyrie Irving, unfortunately has developed a bad knee. He missed 35 games total in eight years in Charlotte but has missed 45 in two shortened seasons in Boston. When he's been in the lineup, he hasn't often been the same player.
Either way, he's now become a concern for Boston because he's owed more than $73 million over the next two years. Walker's trade value is now not seen as an asset, sources say, but as a player who can hopefully make a comeback. But that can't be counted on.
Boston no longer has high picks coming; those are gone. They got some bad luck when picks from Sacramento and Memphis, once highly valued in the trade market, that could have been in the top 5 both ended up 14th. And the players selected, Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith, have yet to look like the rising stars that the Celtics drafted in the lottery the seasons before.
The Celtics will remain a good team. Stevens needs to evolve and work more toward his talent, and he probably will. Tatum is a first-team All-NBA caliber player, and Brown is not far behind. They play the most desired position in the league.
But as this season showed, that isn't enough. The chance at more has dimmed for now. And that leaves the sinking reality: Boston could be stuck in the middle.
"middle" - Google News
June 02, 2021 at 09:18AM
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The Boston Celtics might be stuck in the middle - ESPN
"middle" - Google News
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