5 Questions Facing the 2019-2020 Boston Celtics

We’ve made it. The NBA (and the Boston Celtics) are finally back! After an offseason that saw an incredible amount of star players switch teams, we’re entering one of the most anticipated seasons in recent memory.

The conversation around the NBA will once again primarily focus on what occurs on the court–for however long that lasts. For the Boston Celtics, we know that the focus is there for this season. As always, success is expected…and projected.

There’s not a single clear cut favorite to win the title, which is a breath of fresh air after having a couple seasons where we felt like we could sim through the whole thing (thanks Golden State Warriors!). There are always questions facing a team as they enter a new season in any sport. Since this is a Boston Celtics blog, let’s dive in on some of the questions facing the team heading into the 2020 season:

Should we be worried about Brad Stevens?

In Brad Stevens’ first five seasons in Boston the team continuously overachieved in relation to the talent on the roster and had a win/loss record that improved each year. The Boston Celtics were the second biggest favorites to win the 2018-2019 title headed into the season behind only Golden State.

The team was loaded with talent, but if you’re reading this blog you probably know how things turned out last year. The disappointing 2019 campaign can’t be blamed entirely on Stevens. Kyrie Irving was a nightmare from a team chemistry perspective, the young players regressed, and Gordon Hayward never returned to the same player he was before his ankle injury.

However, as the head coach, Stevens needs to take some blame for never getting this team to click last year with all the talent they had. Stevens has proven he can take a squad with lackluster talent and outperform expectations in both college and the professional level, but the real test for him is can he take a talented team and make them a real threat to win a championship.

The team this season is clearly less talented than last year, but with the title seeming wide open–with no clear cut favorite–maybe the Boston Celtics could make some noise as a real threat. We’ll see if last season was a fluke, or if it’s actually something to be worried about going forward with Stevens.

How good is Jaylen Brown?

Jaylen is entering the last year of his rookie deal before he becomes a restricted free agent. A contract extension before the start of the season doesn’t seem likely. With Kyrie gone, the spotlight on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to lead this team is massive. Jaylen is an athletic two way wing, but this is the season he needs to show whether or not he’s a star. The model for him would be either Paul George or Jimmy Butler.

The Boston Celtics should absolutely try to bring Brown back–even if he isn’t able to get to the Butler or George level. It’d be a disappointment if Brown doesn’t become an All-Star player given he was the third pick in the draft, made back to back conference finals appearances in his first two seasons in the league, and seemed to be headed on that trajectory.

The nightmare 2018-19 season–which mentioning should be the equivalent of saying Voldemart’s name–definitely set Jaylen back. He lost his starting job in 2019 after being the second leading scorer on the team in the 2018 playoffs. If he’s going to get back on track, it has to be this season with Irving gone, one year left on his contract, and a new haircut (okay this one doesn’t make a difference). At the end of this season we’ll know whether Brown is closer as a player to Paul George or Nic Batum.

Can the Boston Celtics trade for a star during the season?

Whenever trade rumors heat up, it’s essentially guaranteed that the Boston Celtics and their assets will be mentioned. Their draft capital is no longer what it once was since all the Brooklyn picks have been used or traded. They have a top seven protected first-rounder from the Milwaukee Bucks which isn’t that special given Milwaukee’s status as a contender all but guarantees this won’t be a high pick.

However, they have a top six protected first-round pick from Memphis that would become unprotected in 2021 if it doesn’t convey this year which is pretty appealing.  The Celtics also have good young players they can put in trades such as Marcus Smart or Jaylen Brown. The problem isn’t that the C’s don’t have the assets to make a trade it’s that there aren’t really any stars for Boston to trade for.

After an offseason like the one that just occurred where so many star players moved to new teams, the amount of star players available on the trade market is extremely low. Bradley Beal just signed an extension to remain in Washington which only further lowers the amount of star players the Celtics could trade for.

Unless Giannis pulls an Anthony Davis which is unlikely since the Bucks are actually a title contender unlike the Pelicans were or if Minnesota inexplicably becomes willing to trade Towns when he’s only in the first year of a five year contract the Boston Celtics shouldn’t count on landing a star player in the trade market this year. They could probably land Kevin Love or Blake Griffin if they wanted to, but given the injury history, contract status, and age of those two players Danny Ainge should steer clear.

Will Danny Ainge finally hit on a non-lottery pick?

Boston’s track record with selecting non-lottery picks is about landed like Ballers Season 5. Outside of Avrey Bradley this decade has been filled with mediocre non-lottery picks from Danny Ainge such as: Jared Sullinger, James Young, Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter, Abdel Nader and Guerschon Yabusele. That’s not quite the Dream Team.

This isn’t a knock on Ainge. Hitting on picks late in the draft or finding undrafted players that are good is difficult. While Ainge isn’t a bad drafter like some seem to believe, it’s not his number one strength when it comes to roster building. Between Carsen Edwards and Tacko Fall the Boston Celtics may have found a rookie who wasn’t selected in the lottery (or selected at all in Fall’s case) that can come in and have an impact. Edwards and Fall have been an absolute delight to watch in the preseason.

Yes, I understand that preseason isn’t the end-all-be-all, but having someone who can sink eight three-pointers in a quarter or having someone who is a 7-foot-6 fan favorite that could provide a little bit of an interior presence would be a nice lift for this team.

If one of these two or another rookie such as Tremont Waters or Grant Williams can contribute for the Boston Celtics, that would be a nice wrinkle to this season. Sadly, my hopes aren’t too high given the team’s recent history with rookies not selected in the lottery.

Is Jayson Tatum going to be a star?

This is hands down the biggest question the Boston Celtics are facing. As good as Kemba Walker might be, he’s a less talented player than Kyrie Irving, and we learned last season that Kyrie isn’t good enough to be the best player on a championship team.

During his rookie year, it seemed like a no brainer that Tatum was going to become a perennial All-Star in the league especially when you factor in that he was the number one scorer on a team that was a couple minutes away from making the Finals in 2018 and when you factor in this. After watching Tatum’s disappointing sophomore season last year where he shot mid range jumper after mid range jumper and stopped driving to the basket, the likelihood of him becoming a bonafide star became a little murky.

To put it bluntly, Boston’s chances of success are heavily riding on Tatum becoming a star. Basketball is the sport where team success is most correlated with star talent on the roster. There are only a few active players (LeBron, Durant, Curry, and Kawhi) in the league who have won a title as the best player on their team. Those four are all superstar players who have multiple top three finishes for league MVP (Kawhi is the only one who hasn’t won regular season MVP) and multiple All-NBA first team selections.

The title picture is driven by the top players in the league. Kemba Walker is already a finished product, and Jaylen Brown doesn’t have the same potential Tatum does. This most certainly puts the pressure on Tatum. Now, Tatum doesn’t need to reach the level of Durant and other elite players this year. That would be unrealistic.

However, this season we need to see signs that Tatum is headed in that direction. Making his first All-Star team or averaging over 20 points a game would be good benchmarks for Tatum to hit this season. The Boston Celtics need Tatum to make strides towards becoming a superstar or banner 18 isn’t coming to TD Garden in the near future.