Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from 2019 NBA offseason
By Adam Taylor
Two chairs, one butt
Throughout the Boston Celtics’ expedited rebuild one thing has remained apparent, Danny Ainge wants to position the team to contend now while having an eye on the future.
Evidence for this can be found by looking at any roster from the last three to four seasons, stars coupled with young promising talent shows an eye on the future as well as “now.”
Sequential stars leaving during free agency seemed to have forced Ainge’s hand, seemingly leaving the Celtics to embrace the youth movement wholeheartedly.
How quickly things can change, with the blink of an eye Ainge had moved Terry Rozier in a double sign-and-trade with the Charlotte Hornets landing Kemba Walker in return.
Joined by Enes Kanter and a host of new draftees, the Celtics seem primed to continue straddling the line between contention and rebuilding for the foreseeable future.
Roster construction of this manner requires ingenuity to continually retool the roster while retaining high-level young talent, especially as these talents edge closer towards the end of their rookie scale contracts.
This challenge becomes prevalent as early as next summer, where Jaylen Brown will become a restricted free agent while Gordon Hayward will decide whether to opt into his player option.
Should a star become available during the season, the Celtics should be considered suitors due to the likelihood one of Brown or Hayward will be leaving the Celtics the following year.
Adding in a tradeable contract such as Kanter or Daniel Theis along with a rookie plus a pick, and the theoretical trade package becomes quite enticing.
Regardless of what happens with this roster throughout the upcoming season, it is evident the front office believe in this method of roster construction.
Allowing them to both develop and assess young talent while being ready to pull the trigger on a blockbuster should the opportunity arise, but as we learnt this year, Ainge has to feel the trade is beneficial for the franchise’s chances of long term success.