As the Boston Celtics season comes to an end the look to next season begins. For the players about to hit the market, who should the team bring back?
After looking like a true contender in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Boston Celtics ran into the buzz saw that is the Miami Heat. The Celtics have long boasted about their young core that is ahead of schedule and poised to take over the Eastern Conference only to be beaten by a younger set of prospects. So, where does the team go from here?
In all likelihood, the team will not be much different next season. Of all the players under contract this year, only Brad Wanamaker will be an unrestricted free agent. For the sake of considering their options, Semi Ojeleye has a team option for next season, Daniel Theis is on a partially guaranteed deal and Enes Kanter has a player option. It was reported this week that Gordon Hayward would be opting in, so he is off the table.
While it is great news that a team that made it to the conference finals has the majority of its core locked in, there are limited opportunities to shore up weaknesses. Given that, they will have to consider if any or all of these players should be brought back into the fold next season.
If the Celtics are to extend a max contract extension to Jayson Tatum when allowed (an obvious move) every dollar gets even more important for the team. So who should they buy (or hope they opt-in) or sell (or pray for the opt-out)?