Boston Celtics: Post-Free Agency NBA Eastern Conference Preview

With free agency all but over for the 2019-2020 NBA season and the dust starting to settle, how do the Boston Celtics stack up against the other NBA Eastern Conference teams?

When I wrote a blog about potential point guards the Boston Celtics could target if Kyrie Irving bolted back in May, I didn’t think there would be a chance Kemba Walker would be coming to Boston. It wasn’t because the Celts are a bad organization or anything negative. I figured other teams, such as Dallas, would make a stronger push for him. I also thought there would be a 50 percent chance Irving would be back in green and white.

Here is what I wrote about Walker in May, ” I’d personally love to see Walker in the green and white and he is definitely a guy who embraces winning and looks to be coach-able too.”

Now that the dust has all but settled in free agency and Walker has signed, where do the “new look” Celts rank in the Eastern Conference for the 2019-2020 season? Last season’s playoff seeds were:

1. Milwaukee Bucks
2. Toronto Raptors
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Boston Celtics
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Brooklyn Nets
7. Orlando Magic
8. Detroit Pistons

Milwaukee lost their best guard (Malcolm Brogdon) to Central Division rival Indiana Pacers. The Raptors, after winning the NBA Championship, lost their best player to the Clippers. Philadelphia added Joel Embiid’s “kryptonite”, Al Horford, to their roster.

Boston was happy to see Irving opt out of his contract and his teammates all but drove him to Logan Airport so he could sign with the Nets. They then added Walker to fill his shoes. The Nets also added Kevin Durant, but we won’t see how that plays out until the 2020-2021 season.

Orlando retained Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross and brought in Al-Farouq Aminu, but failed to add point guard depth behind DJ Augustin. The Pistons added Derek Rose, but unfortunately, it’s not 2010. Charlotte is back to rebuilding even after signing Terry Rozier to a *double-takes* $58 million dollar contract.  Washington is waiting to see what John Wall can do when he returns, but also signed Isaiah Thomas to spark the second unit.

Miami traded for Jimmy Butler and may possibly be bringing Russell Westbrook to South Beach. The Hawks are going to be really fun to watch this season if Trae Young continues to improve off of a stellar rookie season. The Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks drafted well, but are still in rebuild mode.

There is still some talent available in free agency and Summer League is currently underway. If I had to seed the Eastern Conference today (each team as is), where would the Celtics be seeded?

1. Philadelphia 76ers – As much as it hurts to type this, I think the 76ers may be taking over the top seed in the upcoming season. They lost Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick but retained Tobias Harris this off-season. They also added Horford which will help their team defense and allow Embiid to rest a little bit more this season. Josh Richardson is another solid addition averaging over 16 points per game last year in Miami.

2. Milwaukee Bucks – Sure, they lost Brogdon, but still have Antetokounmpo, who was the MVP this past season and continues to get better each year. If he improves his three-point percentage this season, who knows if that can elevate the Bucks to the next level.

A wild card for this team is Donte DiVincenzo, who was hurt most of his rookie season. Could he be a solid rotation player for this team and fill the void left by Brogdon?

3. Boston Celtics – The Irving Era is over and ended with four stinkers in a row during the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Bucks. Danny Ainge brought in Walker, who as I mentioned in a blog before, will thrive in Boston in front of a crowd and fan base that actually cares. He actually cares too, which is the type of player Boston wants and needs.

Enes Kanter replaces Horford at center. Will the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown rise to the occasion without having to appease Irving? Will Gordon Hayward rebound to what he was before his injury? It will be fun to see how Coach Brad Stevens alters his rotations and how much production comes from Robert Williams, Grant Williams, Semi Ojeleye and Carsen Edwards. Also, will Tacko Fall be added as a two-way player?

4. Indiana Pacers – They added Brogdon to pair with Victor Oladipo, which should be a great back-court. Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner form a solid young duo up front. Jeremy Lamb is coming over from Charlotte and adds some depth to their backcourt as well.

5. Brooklyn Nets – They added Irving, but lost D’Angelo Russell to the Warriors. The Nets also added DeAndre Jordan to form a very good defensive group of centers with Jarrett Allen. Other than that, the Nets are in wait and see mode for Kevin Durant to suit up in 2020-2021.

6. Toronto Raptors – Out of respect for the NBA Champions, I will place them here. They lost Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard and didn’t add much to their roster. It is now the Pascal Siakam-Show in Canada and we will see how far he can take the Raptors next season.

7. Miami Heat – This seed has potential to move up a spot or two if they add Russell Westbrook to team up with newly acquired Jimmy Butler. Tyler Herro has had a solid summer league thus far, averaging 19.5 points per game. The question is, if they trade for Westbrook, who do they give up?

8. Atlanta Hawks – As I mentioned above, this team is going to be really fun to watch. Trae Young averaged just over 19 points per game and shot 32.4 percent from three in his rookie season. He also added 8.1 assists per game. Add in De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish (via the draft) to a front-court that already has John Collins (19.5 points per game) and this team could really click. The Hawks also have the immortal Vince Carter to mentor this young “kettle” of Hawks.

9. Detroit Pistons – They have a powerful front-court in Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond, but what else do they have? Luke Kennard averaged 15 points per game in the playoffs and they add Derrick Rose to play the point with Reggie Jackson. Detroit drafted Sekou Doumbouya from Guinea, but who knows how far away he is from contributing.

10. Cleveland Cavaliers – The Cavs added Darius Garland out of Vanderbilt in the draft to pair with Colin Sexton in the back-court. Kevin Love comes back from injury, but do the Cavs look to move him to help the rebuild? I’m sure Tristan Thompson is on the block as well.

11. Orlando Magic – Orlando made the playoffs, retained Vucevic and Ross while adding Aminu in the past four months. Will Mo Bamba make an impact this year? What about Markelle Fultz, has he cured his shooting “yipps?”

They still have Aaron Gordon, who averaged 16 and seven this past season too. Unfortunately, their first round pick, Chuma Okeke from Auburn, tore his ACL in the NCAA Tournament and will miss some time this upcoming season.

12. Chicago Bulls – The Bulls selected point guard Coby White with their lottery pick and now will look to move incumbent, Kris Dunn. They are paying big money to Zach LaVine and Otto Porter Jr. and have young pieces in Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr to build around. It will be interesting to see what the Bulls front office, which is historically bad, does during this season and beyond.

13. Washington Wizards – The Wizards (maybe the worst rename in sports history) have a lot of money invested in John Wall through 2022-2023 and is likely to miss half the season due to a ruptured Achilles. They still have Bradley Beal (played the most minutes per game in the league last year) and drafted Rui Hachimura out of Gonzaga. Other than that, they don’t have much.

14. New York Knicks – The Knicks struck out again in free agency, which makes me very happy as a Celtics fan. All you heard during the season was “Free Agent XY and Z were going to sign with the Knicks.” Free agency came and went and the Knicks had to settle on Julius Randle and a bunch of other role players. They did draft R.J. Barrett, which was a great pick, to form a solid young core with Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson. Maybe next year New York, maybe next year…

15. Charlotte Hornets – After letting Walker leave in a sign and trade for Terry Rozier, the Hornets are back to square one. To me, it’s crazy that Michael Jordan is the owner and arguably the most competitive person in NBA history, yet has such a tough time building teams. PJ Washington was a solid draft pick to add to last year’s pick, Miles Bridges. Other than that, they will probably settle at the bottom and look to win the lottery for the first overall pick next year.

As of now, this is how I see the East when looking at how free agency played out along with new acquisitions via the draft, free agency and trades. I am sure between now and April some teams will experience a massive shake up. The Heat or another team could acquire Russell Westbrook and change the dynamic for that team. For two years in a row, the Eastern Conference is up for grabs!