Celtics Face Busy Offseason After Historic Playoff Collapse
celtics-face-busy-offseason-after-historic-playoff-collapse
The Boston Celtics are heading into the summer with pressing roster questions after their first-round exit to Philadelphia, a series that marked the franchise’s first blown 3-1 lead.
Cap tools in focus
Boston holds a $27.7 million trade exception from the Anfernee Simons swap that expires at next season’s trade deadline, several smaller exceptions, the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and a $5.4 million bi-annual exception. Front-court depth and the logjam of young wings headline the to-do list.
Neemias Queta decision looms
The club must choose whether to exercise Queta’s $2.7 million team option. Picking it up would allow an extension of up to four years and $92 million, preserving some financial flexibility. Declining the option would force a new deal that cuts into cap room, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Tatum’s comeback stalls at Game 7
Jayson Tatum, who returned from a torn Achilles and looked fully recovered, missed the decisive game with left knee stiffness. “I worked really, really, really, really hard to come back in the fashion that I did … so for it to end the way it did was a tough pill to swallow,” Tatum told ESPN. He hopes his season can inspire players rehabbing similar injuries.
Stevens’ deadline gamble backfires
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens traded Simons for Nikola Vucevic to dip below the luxury-tax threshold while upgrading the roster. The cost-cutting move succeeded financially, but Vucevic was benched in favor of Luka Garza in Game 7, exposing Boston’s lack of a reliable big man when Queta battled foul trouble.
Mazzulla’s surprise Game 7 lineup
Head coach Joe Mazzulla started Baylor Scheierman, Ron Harper Jr. and Garza alongside Jaylen Brown and Derrick White— a unit that had not played together during the regular season. The trio of late-season additions combined for zero points on seven attempts. “We saw a couple things tactically we wanted to test out,” Mazzulla said postgame. “We came up short.”
With trade exceptions ticking down and key contract calls ahead, Boston’s front office faces a pivotal offseason aimed at returning the club to true title contention.
Source: Hoops Rumors
