Boy oh boy, it’s been a busy offseason, Boston Celtics fans.
Since the Cs ended 2020-21 with an overall record below .500 (including the postseason), turnover has been rapid in Beantown.
It all started when Danny Ainge shocked the basketball world and stepped aside from his post of 18 years to relinquish power to the former head coach, Brad Stevens. The ex-GM handed the reigns to a front office novice, but you wouldn’t know it from the summer Stevens just had.
In flipping Kemba Walker and picks for Al Horford and Moses Brown (who was later traded for Josh Richardson), Stevens brought back a fan favorite who meshed well with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The trio, along with Marcus Smart, spearheaded an Eastern Conference finals run three years ago. To boot, Horford was only part of a team in Boston with a minimum of 48 games won.
Getting back to that success seems more possible with Walker’s albatross deal off the roster and guys like Smart, Robert Williams, and even newcomer Josh Richardson all having their contracts extended. You’ll hear me reference this plenty in the future: the Milwaukee Bucks preseason extension model is the new norm. And it’s a good one considering what players have gone through the past two seasons.
But is Stevens done dealing after this recent flurry of extensions? There’s a chance he isn’t, considering rumors of Kris Dunn being potentially rerouted and the possibility that a veteran free agent addition is still on the table as well.
Here are 2 last-second deals Stevens could still make this offseason: