How do the Boston Celtics take the next step in dethroning the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference? What are the key offseason factors in deciding the fate of the Celtics in 2017-18?
The Boston Celtics are defined by intelligence and organizational excellence. After clinching the first seed in the Eastern Conference via winning 53 games, the Celtics are among the NBA’s upper echelon of contenders. Boston was ousted in the Eastern Conference Finals by Cavaliers but may not be too far away from making a Finals appearance if they can win another offseason. While Boston has an uphill climb to catch LeBron James and the Cavs, it’s hard to ignore the position the Celtics are in.
Boston enters the offseason in the weird position of trying to juggle being contenders and keeping their ultra bright future intact at the same time. Not only is Boston a contender now, but they also hold the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft because of the trade with the Brooklyn Nets that stole a trove of draft picks for the ancient Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. If anyone is close to overtaking Cleveland as the favorites in the East, it’s the Boston Celtics.
I’m not sure any team has a more interesting offseason at hand than Boston. With a million possible outcomes to consider, what are five moves the Boston Celtics should consider heading into the 2017 offseason?
Honorable mention: Monitor the restricted free agent market of Kelly Olynyk
Kelly Olynyk is the biggest name of any of the Celtics impending free agents. Olynyk has had his moments of late including his Game 7 heroics against the Wizards with 26 points on 10-14 shooting off the bench. If there’s one hole on the Celtics roster, it’s their lack of big men. While the Celtics may have to consider a number of avenues in order to create max cap space, playing a dangerous game with Kelly Olynyk is sort of inevitable for Boston.
Olynyk will create a cap hold of $7,735,034 to retain his bird rights but Boston can reduce that number by offering him the qualifying offer of $4,279,021. Unfortunately, if the Celtics cannot execute a trade this summer, Boston will have to renounce his bird rights entirely if they want to create max cap space to chase after a star. Of course, they won’t have to make that decision up until they actually sign a premier free agent.
If all goes right for Boston, they will have their cake and eat it too. Trading one of their plethora of guards will make it possible for Olynyk to stay on. The question becomes whether or not another team will give him a hefty offer sheet? Olynyk, 26, could leave Beantown if he lands an offer sheet of around $15 million per year. If not, Boston can likely finesse a reasonable contract to keep him in green.
5. Figure out the status of the onternational 2016 draft and stash players
Lost in the shuffle for the Celtics this offseason are two players they selected in the 2016 NBA Draft. Guerschon Yabusele (No. 16) and Ante Zizic (No. 23) were selected as international draft-and-stash prospects to become Celtics at a later date. After spending a year of gaining more seasoning, the Celtics could opt to promote both players to the active roster in 2017. The question is, are they ready to contribute as soon as next year?
Yabusele, 21, was brought over late last season to play for Boston’s D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. Yabusele, otherwise known as ‘French Draymond’, is a 6-foot-8, 260 pound, power forward that fits the mold of the modern NBA. You guessed it; the hope in Boston is that his ceiling is Draymond Green as that big-bodied guy who can play multiple positions. Yabusele also has a sweet shooting stroke that makes him the perfect developmental stretch-four prospect.
The French native primarily played last season in China where he averaged 20.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game over the course of 43 appearances. He also played well in two D-League contests putting up 18.5 points a game for the Red Claws. Yabusele will miss the Summer League because of a foot injury but we should expect to see him on the active roster for Boston in 2017-18.
Then Boston also has Ante Zizic to consider. Zizic, 20, spent this past year playing in the Turkish Basketball League suiting up for former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt. His head coach David Blatt spoke very kindly about the Croation big man.
"“One guy that sort of comes to mind is [Steven] Adams from Oklahoma. And he’s certainly turned out to be a pretty fine player. That’s the first guy that sort of jumps out at me when I think of a comparison.”"
Zizic fills a big void the Celtics desperately need as Boston ranked No. 27 in the NBA in rebounding differential. At 7-foot, 258-pounds, Zizic hopefully can be an upgrade over the mediocre options of Amir Johnson and Tyler Zeller. Obviously with any international player, it’s hard to know for sure exactly what you’re getting when they make the leap to the NBA.
4. Find a big man
The Celtics were atrocious on the glass this season, one of their biggest weaknesses. If Boston can improve those shoddy rebounding numbers, they will be awfully tough to beat. Some of the blame has to be steered toward Al Horford who was brought over from Atlanta this past offseason. Horford gave Boston exactly what they were looking for in a stretch-five but they likely didn’t expect the rebounding to be as big of an issue as it is. Horford only averaged 6.8 rebounds per game for Boston this regular season which was down from his career average of 8.7 boards per game. Finding a big to play next to Horford is an important part of the Celtics offseason.
That answer could be one of the international players discussed earlier. Boston could always go with the small ball lineup as well playing Jaylen Brown or Jae Crowder four but they still need to add a true big man to solve the rebounding troubles. Bringing back Kelly Olynyk would also go a long way to adding depth.
John Buhler discussed the prospects of adding Chris Bosh to the mix in Boston. Maybe Bosh could be an answer if he is cleared to play. Maybe even a guy like Zach Randolph would consider taking a pay cut to play for the Celtics for a chance to win a ring. Other players like David West, Brandon Bass, Marreesse Speights, and Nene could possibly be considered as low-cost options.
3. Keep the pick, draft Markelle Fultz
In an NBA where the Warriors give up nothing to sign Kevin Durant, why would any big market team give up assets to trade for a top player, not on their rookie contract? Why trade for Paul George when he will leave for the Lakers a year from now anyway?
Keeping the pick makes the most sense. The NBA Draft is a crapshoot, there’s no doubt about it. However, the first overall pick definitely minimizes the risk, especially when there’s a transformative player at the top of the board in Markelle Fultz. The point guard from the University of Washington has big-time upside.
Fultz is a 6-foot-4 natural point guard who can score immediately at the NBA level. His 7-foot wingspan will give him the measurables to be an elite defender with the ability to create his own shot. Forget the fact that Fultz’s collegiate team struggled to a 9-22 record, he didn’t have any talent around him.
Boston also has three second-round selections at their disposal that come in at No. 37, No. 53, and No. 56 overall respectively. With Gerald Green, Jonas Jerebko, Amir Johnson, James Young, and Tyler Zeller expected to leave via free agency, Boston could use those second round picks as bench pieces. It’s possible that even Kelly Olynyk, Jordan Mickey, and Demetrius Jackson may also be let go in order to create max cap space.
In what is regarded as a deep draft, there could be a bunch of steals in the second round that help Boston build out their bench.
2. Gauge the trade market for Isaiah Thomas
Trading Isaiah Thomas may seem a bit blasphemous at first but let’s break down the possibility a bit further. Thomas, an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018, will be seeking a big-time extension that could be worth upwards of $200 million. Is Danny Ainge comfortable giving Isaiah Thomas a max deal? Probably not, so you have no choice but to try to gauge his trade value. You could always let Isaiah play out the final year of his contract next year but it makes little sense to let him leave for nothing if you don’t plan on paying him a big time extension.
It might make more sense to pay Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart considering the pair of guards will also join Thomas as players available on the market in 2018. Bradley will become an unrestricted free agent while Smart will be a restricted free agent. It’s not a hot take to call the Celtics a better defensive team without Isaiah Thomas on the floor, but is it possible that Boston is better on the offensive end without Isaiah too?
If this Cleveland series has taught us anything, it’s that the Celtics can’t beat the Cavaliers with Isaiah Thomas. Unlike other teams in the East, head coach Brad Stevens was able to hide Isaiah Thomas on defense throughout the playoffs on the defense. Whether it was putting Thomas on Rajon Rondo or Otto Porter, Boston was able to make up for Thomas’ defensive woes by sticking him on limited offensive players. When it was time to play the Cavs, there was no hiding Thomas as Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, and so on abused the Celtics defensive unit with Isaiah on the floor. Boston was outscored by 54 points in the six quarters that Thomas played in.
Boston hasn’t had the troubles scoring that many people anticipated after Isaiah Thomas left with the hip injury. Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue even said Boston’s unit without Thomas has been tougher to guard than the dangerous Golden State Warriors squad (as silly as that sounds).
"“I don’t even think about them,” Lue said of the Warriors to a small group of traveling Cleveland beat writers following the Cavs’ Game 4 win Tuesday. “We’re just focused on Boston. The stuff they’re running, it’s harder to defend than Golden State’s [offense] for me, as far as the actions and all the running around and all the guys who are making all the plays, so it’s a totally different thing.”"
With Markelle Fultz on the way, the Celtics have a true replacement for Isaiah Thomas next year. The question also remains whether Fultz and Thomas will be able to coexist at the same time on the floor? Keeping Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart just makes much more sense going forward in terms of defensive ability, the fit playing with Markelle Fultz off the ball, and from a cost perspective when it’s time to pay these guys.
1. Convince Gordon Hayward to join the Celtics
The Gordon Hayward-Celtics marriage is something that needs to happen. Stevens coached Hayward during his collegiate days at Butler. Think about it, out of all the 347 Division 1 schools that exist, Hayward decided to attend Butler for the chance to play for Brad Stevens. Do we really think he can’t recruit him to the Celtics this offseason with the chance to play for a ready-made contender with an ultra-bright young core also intact?
Brad Stevens is partially responsible for elevating Hayward in the 2010 NBA Draft to the No. 9 overall pick after Butler lost to Duke in the national title game. Stevens has elevated even his old college program as Butler has since left the Horizon League to join the Atlantic 10 Conference. An argument could be made that no one knows Gordon Hayward better than Brad Stevens and the best of Hayward’s NBA career is still yet to come if he joins the Celtics.
Boston lacks a true go-to scoring wing. Jae Crowder and Jaylen Brown are really nice players but do not possess the scoring prowess of a Gordon Hayward. Adding a scorer like Hayward that will give you 21.9 points per game including a 39.8 percent clip from deep will raise the Celtics to another level, maybe even on par with Cleveland. Convincing him to sign with Boston may be easier said than done.
Next: Every NBA team's greatest playoff moment
The Jazz have been a team on the upswing and Hayward has been invested in building a strong core there. However, if Hayward wants to give himself the best chance to win a championship, there’s no question the Celtics are the home for him.