Now more than a week after Boston’s disappointing Game 7 loss (and the ensuing blame game), the offseason picture is now much clearer. President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has confirmed that Joe Mazzola will return as head coach and that the team has begun to recreate the basketball brain trust with Sam Cassell. Stevens also reiterated that Jaylen Brown will be a big part of the franchise’s future, which could indicate a supermax offer once free agency opens on July 1st.
For a team with championship ambitions and an earlier-than-expected exit, this status quo could see an absurdity and a lot of a team’s evaluation of either the glass half full or the glass half empty. The bitterness of another postseason loss and waiting another year for the Banner 18 could tarnish a relatively fine season. The Athletic’s Jay King went so far as to suggest that the Celtics should be “ashamed” of how everything turned out.
For some, a string of Eastern Conference Finals anchors is a sign that this group just doesn’t have what it takes to get over the proverbial hump. For others, this season and years past is such a record of continued success — the Celtics lead the East in wins over the past eight seasons — that it just takes patience and a nudge from the basketball gods to come out on top. I’m in the last.
Let’s evaluate. Boston doesn’t necessarily have a birdie on hand, but getting two All-NBA forwards into the primes is a good start. The team is coming off a season in which it finished second in offensive and defensive efficiency and had the highest net rating in the league. This is definitely important to something, right?
Certainly, there are areas for growth. The coaching staff decimated by the departures this summer will be restocked with former player/NBA Champion/Assistant Coach Cassel already on hand to join the bench. For the guy, the players talked about re-establishing their defensive identity after the ebbs and flows of the playoffs. We could also see an offensive system next year that is less reliant on three-point shooting variation.
And even with all this potential change on the horizon, the immediate future of the franchise isn’t what most fans will have in mind. With a year left until his rookie extension, the Browns become eligible for a 5-year, $290 million contract extension that takes effect in 2024-25. That deal along with extending Tatum the following year could seriously hamper Brad Stevens’ ability to improve the roster under a new, punishing CBA when both players are at the center of their best days.
There’s certainly a financial argument to be made that Stevens needs to start getting his ducks in a row before he starts running his second supertax arena in 2025. I’m not going to argue with that. But if this new collective agreement is going to cause teams to be recycled every four to five years, let’s get this team back until that happens.
After the last four seasons back on the bubble, it’s now clear to me that I don’t want just starring; I want These men – our comrades – To hang that banner at TD Garden.
I have all the arguments against it: fiscal responsibility, menu balance, Einstein’s definition of insanity, all of it. But just as Mike Zarin would have to balance a cost-benefit analysis to allocate 70% of the team’s salary cap to the Browns, and then to Tatum eventually, I’ve been running the numbers on how much I care about those players. It’s been nine years with Marcus Smart. Six with jays. Five with Al Horford. Grant and Robert Williams are our discoveries. I want Derek White to finish his career with his father’s favorite team. I’ll let the front office take care of the spreadsheet. I know where my emotional investment is.
All tournaments have different weights for them. As a kid, I fell in love with the Celtics when they were Larry and McHale and the DJ and the president, so 1984 and ’86 are special to me. The 2008 team made me feel like I was 12 again and those three senior years had cumulative value after years of struggle – maybe that’s what growing up is all about. However, this core is really something special to me, even without an episode.
Perhaps it’s the fact that Smart, Brown, Tatum, and Williamses were all drafted by Danny Ainge. Perhaps it was all the hardships that they endured together. Maybe it’s my age and perspective perspective.
but I want This team to win. This kernel. This team.