Shams Charania of ESPN made waves earlier this summer when he reported that the Boston Celtics declined a counteroffer from the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Boston was willing to offer Jaylen Brown and multiple first-round picks, but was unwilling to add young players such as Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman to the deal.
With a new-look roster that has swapped Brown out for veteran Paul George, the Celtics will soon find out if they were right to back Scheierman as a key piece of their rotation.
Scheierman, who will turn 26 in September, played just 31 games as a rookie for the Celtics in 2024-25, but appeared in 77 in 2025-26. During that time, he averaged 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.3 three-point field goals made in 18.6 minutes per game.
Those numbers don't jump off the page, but it's hard to overlook how Scheierman improved from shooting at a clip of .355/.317/.750 in 2024-25 to .453/.399/.903 in 2025-26.
The question facing Scheierman in 2026-27 will be simple: Can he produce with greater volume while maintaining his efficiency? If the answer is yes, then Scheierman's emergence as a volume shooter could bring Jayson Tatum significantly closer to having the support he needs to lead Boston back to the playoffs.
If the answer is no, then the Celtics losing Brown could be even more difficult to overcome—and the topic of trading Scheierman may just need to be revisited in February.
Celtics need Baylor Scheierman to prove he was worth not trading
Boston has an intriguing core of players that it appears to be building its rotation around. That includes Tatum, Paul George, and Payton Pritchard as featured scorers, Derrick White as the glue, Sam Hauser as a spacer, and big men Mitchell Robinson and Neemias Queta anchoring the interior.
There are significant question marks beyond them, however, particularly after the likes of Luka Garza, Scheierman, and Jordan Walsh all struggled in the playoffs.
Compounded by the fact Tatum played just 22 games between the 2025-26 regular season and postseason, and George has missed 84 games over the past two seasons, Boston has depth concerns. As such, the team they enter the season with may not be the one they exit it with.
Scheierman will thus need to solidify his place in the rotation or risk being included in a trade ahead of the 2027 deadline as the Celtics potentially pursue roster improvements.
Thankfully, Scheierman's signature skill, three-point shooting, may very well save him from such a fate. Boston needs to provide Tatum with support from a scoring perspective, and Scheierman shooting with increased volume would take pressure off of him while fitting Joe Mazzulla's known preference for launching threes with volume.
After backing Scheierman in a rather powerful way earlier this summer, the Celtics' faith in his ability and potential will be tested. How he performs could make or break his tenure.
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