It's difficult coming to grips with the fact that not only did the Boston Celtics lose the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes to a rival, but they also lost what may have been their best chance at returning to title contention. They're not out of options, but they're dropping like flies.
Even worse, before the Giannis trade even happened, the Celtics lost what may have been their best backup option in case of losing the Giannis sweepstakes: Rudy Gobert.
Nothing happened directly with Gobert, but the Timberwolves trade that went down shortly before the Giannis trade more or less confirms that he's not leaving Minnesota anytime soon. For anyone who doesn't know, the Timberwolves more or less dumped Julius Randle's salary to the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster that saved them enough money to re-sign Ayo Dosunmu.
Just in: Minnesota is sending Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick in the NBA Draft to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls, sources tell ESPN. The Timberwolves will acquire Brooklyn’s No. 33 pick for Randle and No. 28. pic.twitter.com/TvADMMNDlg
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2026
Free agent guard Ayo Dosunmu intends to sign a five-year, $112 million contract to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a player option in the fifth season, sources tell ESPN. Timberwolves made it a major priority to lock in Dosunmu after his tremendous postseason. pic.twitter.com/xw93nAUhJt
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2026
So the Timberwolves didn't make this trade primarily to signal that Gobert is sticking around, but after trading Randle, letting go of Gobert seems counterproductive for what they want to do. With Randle out, the Timberwolves don't have as much frontcourt depth, so trading Gobert would make that a problem.
Gobert is not a Giannis type, but he is a game-changer who could have come in handy to put next to the Jays. That's why the Celtics have had interest in him, though it would take significant cap maneuvering to get him on the team without including Derrick White.
With those two out, what are Boston's options?
This offseason now gets a little more complicated for the Celtics. With Giannis and Gobert no longer on the table - and if Jaylen Brown isn't available - Boston really has to do look far and wide to upgrade around this roster.
The postseason exposed how flawed Boston's roster was, so among the decisions Brad Stevens cannot make this summer is running this roster back. It's not clear if Gobert was truly available, but Giannis was, so now it's hard to think of who Boston can get who's on their level or, at the very least, gets them back to title contention.
Yes, Stevens has options. He has the Ant Simons TPE, the non-taxpayers MLE, and he can do sign-and-trades. He has proven how creative he can be with his roster, but it's hard to come up with players who change everything for the Celtics if they were available.
All apologies, but it's currently hard to be optimistic between losing to the 76ers in the playoffs and then losing Giannis to the Heat. Stevens deserves the benefit of the doubt because he's gotten the Celtics back on track before, but after he may have just taken his biggest L as an executive, he's got a lot more to prove.
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