Anyone who pays even the remotest amount of attention to the NBA expected big changes to the Celtics' roster. The front office's attempts to get their payroll to a manageable and less penalty-ridden level were successful.
The downside is that several key and clutch players who were big parts of their most recent NBA Championship are now gone. Jayson Tatum is potentially out for the season due to an Achilles injury sustained in the first round of the 2024-25 NBA Playoffs.
That's going to be a tough pill to swallow going into 2025-26. Jrue Holiday being traded back to the Portland Trail Blazers wasn't surprising given that move freed up some cap space. It was still disappointing for the Celtics' faithful.
The toughest change in the short term might be the lack of a strong player at the five. Kristaps Porzingis was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Luke Kornet took advantage of his free agent status to sign with the rising San Antonio Spurs.
Plus, it's looking more and more like Al Horford will either retire or head for the Golden State Warriors. That Porzingis trade keeps getting worse and worse.
Getting rid of Kristaps Porzingis could burn the Celtics
Like the Jrue Holiday trade, the Porzingis trade was all about the salary cap. The Celtics' knew they were in serious trouble coming out of the 2024/25 season as top players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White were looking at some sizable pay increases. And the franchise was already well into the penalty aprons.
Despite rumors to the contrary, trades including Tatum, Brown, and White weren't really considerations for the front office. Undoubtedly, overtures if not offers were made during the off-season but were likely not seriously discussed.
These three stars constitute the core of the team and the base the franchise seemingly wants to build around into the future. As such, Porzingis found himself as part of a three-team trade that resulted in him landing on the Hawks.
That hopefully made Trae Young happy as he has needed help at the five for a long time. In exchange, the Celtics got power forward George Niang, a second-round 2031 pick, and some cash considerations via the Brooklyn Nets. None of that does anything for the center position.
Losing Porzingis may have been the wrong choice
Currently at the five, the Celtics have Amari Williams, Xavier Tillman, Neemias Queta, Chris Boucher, and Al Horford. Again, Horford is likely either leaving or retiring, leaving Queta as the most probable starter in the center position.
It's also worth noting that the Celtics also picked up Luka Garza in the off-season, a power forward who can play center when needed. The Celtics currently aren't lacking bodies at center. What they are lacking is experience, dominance, and chemistry, particularly if Horford leaves the roster.
Some of that could be built over time, but that requires at least one of their current centers to step up and become the guy. That definitely could happen. At the same time, they had that with Porzingis and Kornet.
Losing Kristaps due to salary cap concerns wasn't a surprise, though it wasn't necessarily the right choice. Letting Kornet walk just compounded the issue. If Big Al makes an exit as well, it starts looking like the Celtics' money-saving endeavor might have gone too far. If both Kornet and Horford end up leaving, the Celtics may have been able to keep Porzingis on the roster in the first place.