After losing last night to the Milwaukee Bucks 106-91, the Boston Celtics were eliminated from playoff contention after losing the series in 5. The Bucks will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals to play either the Toronto Raptors or the Philadelphia 76ers. For Boston, this caps off an extremely disappointing and underwhelming season where they met none of their expectations. The Celtics were projected to be a potential 60 win team, but won only 49 games. They were the heavy favorite to make it out of the Eastern conference, with LeBron gone and Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward healthy. After this loss, drastic changes will need to be made this summer.
There are a few different paths that Boston can take this offseason, and both of them revolve around superstar point guard Kyrie Irving, who becomes a free agent. After declaring that he intends to resign in Boston at a fan event in October, Irving has had a change of mindset. He recently said to "ask him July 1st" as to whether or not Boston would be his long term home. Kyrie has been rumored to be deeply interested in the New York Knicks, and could potentially pair up with Kevin Durant there.
Boston must ask themselves whether or not Irving is worth a max contract or not. Time after time this year, it seems like Irving's ego has come before the team. He never took responsibility even though he played badly for parts, and is not the leader Celtics fans wish he was. After an awful shooting night in game 4 where he went 7-22, Irving said he "should have taken 30 because he's a good player". These types of comments are not beneficial for the team and create a sort of toxicity in the locker room.
Despite all this, there is a good motivation for Boston to pursue Irving: Anthony Davis. The disgruntled power forward did not get his trade request granted back in February, and has been closely linked to the Celtics. If Irving leaves, chances are that Boston does not trade for Davis, as there is not much guarantee that he will sign an extension next year. However, pairing up with Irving would definitely spark the interest of him, and there is a much higher chance that he stays. This is a more short term solution as Jayson Tatum and/or Jaylen Brown will likely have to be included in the deal, although it would make Boston instant contenders.
If they were to let Kyrie walk, Tatum would be given the keys to the franchise. The 20 year old flourished when allowed to control the pace on his own, and excelled at isolating. This was put on display during last year's playoffs, where Tatum led Boston to game 7 of the ECF. The Celts will also probably resign Terry Rozier in this scenario, and make him the starting point guard. The Celtics would not have the troubling locker room presence of a superstar like Irving, and would be a more balanced team that moved the ball around much more, although they would lack a true closer.
Of these two possibilities, the second one appears to be more likely. The Celtics can then focus on building around a core of Tatum, Brown, and perhaps a rookie that they draft this season. No matter what happens, Boston needs to change to avoid another disappointing year like this one.
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