The Boston Celtics are not the only team with a fanbase thirsting for wholesale changes this coming offseason.
Now that the first round of the postseason has concluded across the board following the Los Angeles Clippers Game 7 dismantling of the Dallas Mavericks, the second wave of angry fans who expected more from their squads this past season has arrived.
In Boston, another step forward was expected from a team denied at the doorstep of the NBA Finals in 2020 down in the Lake Buena Vista bubble on Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports campus. That didn’t happen after an offseason that saw Gordon Hayward skip town for just a return of a TPE used at the trade deadline for the underwhelming Evan Fournier and Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague sign on to mostly disappointing results.
To be fair, this season was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that was more trying than any season in memory. Even the postseason bubble provided more stability than this year, which saw numerous game cancelations and endless pull-outs from players almost daily due to COVID-19 Health and Safety protocols.
That said, a season is a season, and the Cs and several other teams proved incapable of contending in 2021. Things could change, though, and the trade market is typically the quickest way that tends to happen.
Newly implemented President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens could talk with some recently eliminated teams also looking to shake things up, and if he does, these 2 players should be available in trade talks: