The Boston Celtics have had a tumultuous end of the season. They lost Jaylen Brown to injury which was always going to make their first-round playoff matchup with the Brooklyn Nets very difficult. They did their best but unfortunately, the Nets proved too good, winning the series 4-1.
Then the Celtics‘ world turned upside down from a front-office standpoint. Danny Ainge stepped aside as the president of basketball operations which is huge for the franchise considering some of the deals he has done. He also has some of the deals he reportedly almost pulled off which would have changed the NBA landscape.
This means that Brad Stevens has moved from the head coaching role into the post recently vacated by Ainge. Mind you, of all the seasons to move into this role, the 2021 offseason is not going to be very easy for the Celtics.
The Boston Celtics have little to no wiggle room
The Celtics have struggled for much of the 2020-21 season. They finally ended up qualifying for the play-in tournament. They finished seventh in the Eastern Conference standings and then managed to get through as the seventh seed.
The Celtics have $134 million in committed salary on their books for next season. Given they were only able to finish seventh, this is way too much for next season given that they have only have 12 players signed.
The problem is that the contract extension for Jayson Tatum kicks in next season, and while he is worth every dollar owed to him, some of the other players who are on big money are certainly expendable. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five roster moves the Boston Celtics need to make.