The Boston Celtics make their return in two and a half weeks, but not everyone on the roster will be returning next season.
Every offseason brings changes to an organization, but determining what the course of action will be for the Boston Celtics–and really any team for that matter–during a pandemic is truly anyone’s guess.
We know there will be change. With the C’s owning several first-round picks in the 2020 draft, there will have to be some sort of a roster crunch to fit all three newcomers. Combine that with the potential conversion of the two-way contracts of Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters into NBA deals, and there is most certainly going to be turnover.
The missing piece of the puzzle is how these changes will come about. While the team lacks cap space to make any significant signings, many free agents will have to settle for below market value deals. That works to the benefit of contenders like the Boston Celtics (assuming they prove themselves to be one and don’t collapse in the bubble) to offer things beyond money to prospective free agents.
No signing could be made without losing roster members, though. Semi Ojeleye is a restricted free agent, while Brad Wanamaker and Javonte Green are playing without a 2020-21 guarantee.
The C’s may choose to bring some of those guys back, but it is all but a foregone conclusion not all of them will be retained. Just who might be playing their final game in green and white during the NBA’s stay in Walt Disney World? The Houdini ponders that very thought: