The Celtics have had one crazy week since free agency unofficially kicked off on July 1st. They’ve only made a handful of transactions, and yet, it feels like the entire team has been gutted and transformed thanks to the stunning Jaylen Brown for Paul George trade.
Everyone has had their chance to weigh in on the wild deal that had been hyped up forever, and still somehow managed to come out of nowhere. The consensus on the deal is pretty negative towards Boston’s end, but luckily games are decided on the court, and only time will tell how the team’s decision-makers have actually fared.
There are still months to go in the offseason, and if there’s one thing the Celtics have certainly done, it’s create optionality. There’s a real chance that more moves are coming, and this roster is far from a finished product. But with the moratorium ending and deals becoming official, let’s see where the Celtics roster actually stands.
Celtics’ Guards (4):
Derrick White
Payton Pritchard
Mike Conley (Signed via minimum)
Dalano Banton (Non-Guaranteed)
Celtics’ Wings (8):
Jayson Tatum
Paul George
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Hugo Gonzalez
Jordan Walsh
Ron Harper Jr.
Dillon Mitchell (2nd-round pick)
Celtics’ Big Men (5):
Neemias Queta
Mitchell Robinson (Signed via MLE)
Luka Garza
Chris Cenac Jr. (1st-round pick)
Amari Williams (2-way)
Celtics’ Possible Starting Lineup:
PG - Payton Pritchard
SG - Derrick White
SF - Paul George
PF - Jayson Tatum
C - Neemias Queta
Celtics’ Depth Chart:
PG: Pritchard/Conley/Banton
SG: White/Gonzalez/Harper Jr.
SF: George/Hauser/Scheierman
PF: Tatum/Walsh/Cencac Jr.
C: Queta/Robinson/Garza
Two-ways: Williams/Mitchell
Celtics depth is in amazing shape
Stevens has preached positionless basketball for years, and this roster is a perfect example as it’s as versatile as it is deep. They have as many as 13 or 14 guys who could be legitimate rotation players right now, and almost all of them can play multiple positions.
The lineup combinations and different starting and closing units that Joe Mazzulla now has at his disposal are very intriguing as well. Sure, it’s fair to question the high-end talent around Tatum. And along with JT, there are major injury concerns for George and Robinson.
But they have the depth to be able to manage everyone’s minutes and keep the veterans fresh for the playoffs. As I said, this roster may be far from finished and could look completely different by the time training camp rolls around, but if I had to guess, I think they’re mostly done.
I think they like this team a lot, and they want to see what it looks like in action. This also gives them a great opportunity to duck the luxury tax and reset the repeater tax. They’ve cleared the deck a bit financially, while adding some meaningful players (and obviously removing one), and picking up some valuable assets to play with.
This team, as currently constructed, can certainly win a lot of regular-season games. Is it a contender? That remains to be seen, but based on recent playoff results, it may not have been anyway. Brad Stevens has likely made his big moves for this offseason. Now, it’s time to sit back and see how things play out while waiting to pounce on the next big move.
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