Boston Celtics: An overview of the C’s wing core for the upcoming season

The Boston Celtics wing depth has gone through significant changes almost every offseason since the Jays era begins with the selection of Jaylen Brown.

Between 2016 and now, the Cs have held the rights to premier wings like Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris, and Jae Crowder beside their marquee stars. There’s more to that picture, but you get the point.

The Boston Celtics love their oversized wings that can shoot and play defense, and that pattern doesn’t look to fade any time soon with Brad Stevens at the helm.

This offseason Stevens has done more addition by subtraction than he has addition concerning the team’s wing core.

Instead of paying Evan Fournier the contract he demanded, Stevens let him walk to a conference rival to secure his payday despite his predecessor trading for him at the deadline.

As risky as a move as that may seem, rest assured letting Fournier go was the right move. Tying up a $17 million deal with all of the Celtics’ other contracts would make things messy, especially future endeavors.

So, where do the Boston Celtics go from here? They didn’t do much to replace the Frenchman, and they didn’t draft any playable wings.

Are they going to stand pat?

That seems like the most likely scenario, but considering who the shamrocks have at the wings, it’s not too big of a deal.

This article will dive into what each of the Boston Celtics wings will contribute to the team this year and how they might improve their wing depth.

We are beginning with the best wing and player on the Boston Celtics roster, Jayson Tatum.

The All-Star is coming off of a successful campaign with Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, bringing home the gold as the second leading scorer despite coming off the bench for most of the tournament.

Playing against more formidable international defenses will have undoubtedly advanced Tatum’s improvement, but what should be expected from the budding superstar after a stark leap last season?

Tatum will be in the NBA’s MVP race if all bodes right for himself and the Boston Celtics.

Brad Stevens has given him a solid supporting cast and a coach that emphasizes team play, therefore lessening the load the young star will have to bear.

Tatum will undoubtedly have to lead the team in most statistical categories, but his minutes will likely go down and defenses won’t be able to focus on him as much as they have in the past.

With a lesser load and more help on the perimeter, Jayson Tatum should be encouraged to drive more which will open up his scoring and playmaking. Getting to the line will be critical, but so will performing timely kick-outs to his teammates to keep the rock swinging, so their offense doesn’t grow too stagnate.

Expectations for Jayson Tatum should be high, and rightfully so since each of the last two seasons he’s managed to surpass them with flying colors.

Next up is Jaylen Brown, the team’s second-best wing and second-best player.

Brown is coming off a scary wrist injury that held him out of the postseason. As easy as it would be to doubt Brown entering the 2021-22 season, it would be equally as unfair to turn a blind eye to all the hard work he’s put in these last six years with the Boston Celtics.

Instead of wondering if Jaylen Brown will return to his old form, we should be talking about the leaps he will undoubtedly take.

He’s improved every year of his career, patching another hole in his game every single summer, and there’s not a reason to believe that will stop now. Besides, most of Brown’s improvements don’t even involve scoring.

Brown has proved he can score as good as the rest of them, but he’s yet to take the next step as a playmaker, continuing to miss reads and throw passes way off target.

If Brown wants to take the next step, he needs to become a better secondary playmaker. Sure, he could become a better ball-handler or a better pull-up shooter, but the All-Star should be putting his playmaking and off-ball defense ahead of all else.

Brown’s off-ball defense has been another thing that’s haunted him, his coaches, and his fans.

In year six, the young wing is still losing focus when his man doesn’t have the ball, which leads to breakdowns and minimizes his defensive impact. Brown has the tools to be a high-level off-ball defender but hasn’t put them together quite yet.

With half his offseason cut short by the wrist injury, I expect Brown’s most significant improvement to be his off-ball defense, considering how much film he’s likely watched.

Brown’s role isn’t in question. He’ll be the second option and continue to do his damage around the perimeter. The question is about his improvement track and whether or not he can stay on it.

I believe he can.

Next up is Aaron Nesmith, one of the essential cogs for the Boston Celtics.

Nesmith is coming off a rookie year full of ups and downs, but if the Cs want to be a high-level team, they’ll need the young shooter to keep those downs to a minimum.

The franchise’s offseason consisted of many moves, but only two involved improving their weak perimeter shooting.

Al Horford and Sam Hauser were two great additions to accomplish that, but if Stevens wants the Cs to be twice the shooting team they were last year, he’s going to need Aaron Nesmith to contribute at a high level.

The soon-to-be sophomore has a chance at starting and a guaranteed chance at seeing real-time minutes and real-time touches beside Boston’s stars.

Nesmith needs to take advantage of these minutes as a movement shooter, snaking around screens and coming off picks with great speed to generate an open shot for himself or his teammates.

He doesn’t have to be Stephen Curry, but if he can’t get his shot to fall, defenses won’t respect him and, therefore, neither will Ime Udoka.

Piggybacking off Nesmith will be Sam Hauser, Boston’s lone two-way signing this offseason.

The incoming rookie was a projected second-round pick that presumably fell out of the draft due to his age.

Nevertheless, Hauser’s shooting talent at his size is an undeniably good asset for a contender to have. In Summer League play, the wing strutted his stuff off the catch in transition and isolation.

He was excellent at relocating and moving around screens with pace to open himself up but also showed good flashes of self-creation beyond the arc, mainly experimenting with pull-ups off the dribble.

He’s not going to be Jayson Tatum from beyond the arc, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a contributor on the offensive end.

If Hauser can prove himself in training camp and then prove himself in the rotational minutes he’ll receive, the Boston Celtics will have netted one of the draft’s biggest steals without having to exercise a pick.

Hauser can revolutionize the C’s floor spacing and, therefore, their ball movement.

With him and Nesmith sprinting around screens, defenses won’t be able to keep a steady eye on Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, thereby opening up driving lanes and playmaking opportunities for the both of them.

If Sam Hauser can nestle his way into their ten-man rotation in the regular season, watch out.

Lastly is Romeo Langford, one of Danny Ainge’s most significant projects in recent memory.

The young wing out of Indiana flashed high potential in high school and college but has yet to put together those flashes in the NBA whilst suiting up for the Boston Celtics.

The most significant factor in the derailment of Langford’s development has been his health, but on a team competing for a title, that excuse isn’t going to fly at the trade deadline.

Langford will be tasked with spotting up occasional ball-handling responsibilities off the bench while also scoring off Boston’s creators’ advantage drives.

The third-year pro has shown he can thrive at the rim, but he’s yet to show he can do it consistently. This is the year to do so, and it’s going to be the difference-maker between a green jersey and no jersey at all.

I believe in him, especially seeing the passing and driving chops he displayed in the Summer League.

Still, Langford has more prominent people to convince than myself or any other Boston Celtics fan for that matter.