The Celtics have fallen into a routine over the last few years, and it’s one that seems to be working out quite well. They draft players late in the first round or in the second round, or they pick up young, unwanted free agents; they develop them into solid role players, and they extend them before they have to on team-friendly deals.
This has been the playbook dating back to Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser, to newer guys like Ron Harper Jr., Neemias Queta, and Jordan Walsh. And this is exactly what you should expect to see with Baylor Scheierman a year from now as he follows a very similar model in Boston.
Drafted 30th overall in 2024, Baylor barely saw the floor in Boston as a rookie. But last season, he came on strong in his sophomore year, proving he can be a valuable rotation player at the very least. The Celtics will hold a fourth-year rookie option for Scheierman for 2027-28, which gives the team some leverage in negotiating next summer.
The Brad Stevens salary cap blueprint
Hopefully, Scheierman has another strong year and continues to develop and look like a meaningful part of the Celtics’ future. In that case, they can pick up his option for the following season and immediately work out an extension, just like they did with Neemy and Walsh.
They also likely won’t be facing the tax crunch they are right now, so there’s also a chance that if Baylor plays well enough, they could decline the team option and start an extension immediately. That would cost the Celtics more for the 2027-28 season, but if Baylor proves to be that good of a player, then it’ll be a great problem to have.
Ultimately, the goal is locking down as much talent as possible for as long as possible on valuable contracts. The Celtics have done a great job of that in recent years, and as soon as they stop seeing value on the contract, they’ve been quick to get out ahead of it and make a trade that keeps the roster humming.
Right now, they’re in a great place with all the optionality in the world, and that situation is only going to get better if they stay under the luxury tax for a second straight year and duck the repeater tax. In the modern NBA, you have to be constantly shuffling the deck and preparing for the future if you want sustained success. Sometimes it comes at a harsh cost, like trading Jaylen Brown, but that’s exactly what Brad and the front office are doing.
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