With the start of the 2019-20 NBA season on the horizon, the Boston Celtics still have some mysteries to solve in terms of handing out roles and roster makeup.
The NBA is almost back, and with it, causes many questions for all 30 NBA teams and their quest to secure an NBA title. The Boston Celtics are no different.
For Beantown, most people — those spectating and those living in it — probably just want to have fun again. To get to that point, there’s first a myriad of questions in need of answers and roles that need to be filled.
Jaylen Brown Contract Negotiations:
The first, and perhaps most important, will be if Jaylen Brown will receive a contract extension before the start of the season and how that could effect his play moving forward?
After years of Brown’s name circulating through trade rumors involving Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis, he still remains a part of the Celtics roster. Now it’s time for Boston to pony up and pay the man.
However, it’s not that simple. The NBA market today is very nuanced, especially for a player of Brown’s archetype.
Teams always pay a lot of money for young two-way wings with the potential to become stars. As smart and self aware as Brown is, he knows this, and will (or already has) insist on a max contract offer from Boston’s higher ups.
On the other hand, the Boston Celtics probably don’t feel Brown has produced enough to earn such a number. Brown’s numbers so far have mirrored more Caris LeVert money than Ben Simmons.
The way these contract negotiations go and the effects they can have later on down the road are completely team and player dependent.
In 2014 when Gordon Hayward was a restricted free agent with the Utah Jazz, Utah refused to give him a max offer. Instead, they told Hayward to go out and have another team sign an offer sheet that they would then match.
Players remember things like this later on down the road when they first hit unrestricted free agency. Ironically, this is one of the reasons the Celtics ended up signing Hayward, as he stated he was a bit off put by Utah’s refusal to extend him outright.
In the past, Danny Ainge usually opts to wait until the summer to get seriously into the negotiations part as we saw recently with Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier.
In all honesty, I would bet that the two sides do not come to an agreement before the deadline in October. They will, instead, revisit things in the summer time should Brown still be on the team.
Gordon Hayward’s Status:
The biggest X-factor for the Boston Celtics will be if Gordon Hayward can recapture his All-Star caliber form. Two years removed from his gruesome ankle injury, history indicates that this is the season where Hayward should look himself again.
We saw glimpses of it during the final few months of last season in which Hayward averaged 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists while shooting 55 percent from the field from February through April.
We were also treated to this wholesome Hayward game winner in early March.
Hayward shouldn’t have to average over 20 points a game again while being a member of the Boston Celtics, but he needs to regain his aggression while taking over games as a playmaker and complimentary scorer.
Far too often we witnessed the same song and dance last year of Hayward too afraid to drive by his man or not comfortable enough driving to the basket through contact.
Newly acquired Celtic, Enes Kanter suggested that Hayward should already have his sights set on the All-Star game after working out with him this summer.
The bottomline, it should be one of the bigger storylines for Boston moving forward as more stories and quotes about Hayward begin to pop up throughout training camp.
Front Court Holes:
It’s no secret that the biggest concern for the Boston Celtics heading into 2019-20 is whether or not the big-men on the roster will be able to play well enough for the team to reach their goals.
Enes Kanter, Daniel Theis, Vincent Poirier, and Robert Williams are all good at different things, yet none have the complete package.
For as talented as Kanter is on the offensive side of the floor, his lack of defensive presence will always need to be complimented with players who excel on that end.
Theis and Poirier are supposed to be those guys. While no one is really sure what to expect of Poirier at the NBA level yet, Theis has proven to be a solid player… but nothing more.
A solid pick and roll defender, shooter, but he’ll never be able to ward off the truly dominant bigs in the league which is an issue when Joel Embiid is standing in between you and an NBA Finals appearance.
The real x-factor in the front court is Williams. At times the kid looks like he has all the tools and potential in the world. Early on, he’s displayed an ability to switch and keep up with guards on the perimeter and block their shots.
Williams’ length will often deter guards from attempting to drive by him, but note the ever so slight cushion between Williams and Malcolm Brogdon. It gives Brogdon the illusion that he has enough room to get off a shot, but Williams jumping ability and wingspan allow him to cover ground quickly and block shots on the perimeter.
The same thing happens again here with the Pistons and Glenn Robinson.
Williams also displayed some nice playmaking in summer league, a skill he didn’t show at all during his rookie year.
My personal favorite, Williams had the awareness to quickly throw it back to Grant Williams after recovering the loose ball out of the scrum.
Williams has also expressed he’s looking forward to being able to develop that part of his game.
Rob Williams on his passing "I feel like I’m seeing plays ahead... I’m passing to you because I know this man is going to help over & you’re going to be able to swing it & get a wide open shot. I love catching the ball in the post & picking the defense apart on the opposite side"
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) July 13, 2019
Since losing Al Horford, the Boston Celtics will be desperate for a big who can make up for his rare blend of skills on both ends of the floor. Perhaps in whatever universe Williams reaches his absolute peak, he puts all these skills together and becomes an All-NBA talent.
While he has made some flashy plays in his rookie year, he often times lacked awareness on both ends and couldn’t quite grasp the concept of team defense.
There’s no doubt that he’ll get his opportunity in training camp and throughout the regular season to try and nab the starting spot.