What the Celtics refuse to believe as Tatum's injury and summer change loom large

"The opportunity to win is now, and I still want to be a part of it."
Jason Miller/GettyImages

In the wake of Jayson Tatum's franchise-altering injury and a season-ending drubbing at the hands of the New York Knicks, it's easy for Boston Celtics fans to let doom and gloom consume their thoughts.

A championship window thought to be wide open may have slammed shut when Tatum crumbled to the floor at Madison Square Garden.

After multiple seasons over the second apron, the NBA's more punitive current collective bargaining agreement isn't helping. Instead, it will act as a guiding light, aiding the Celtics as they navigate a summer where getting below the second apron may be their north star.

Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis
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Significant changes are in store for Boston this summer. That could lead to the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford, among others.

But the future isn't inherently negative. That it's unwritten means Tatum could return at the All-NBA level he's established. Dr. Kevin Stone, an orthopedic surgeon at The Stone Clinic and a leading expert in Achilles tendon repair, explained to this author the advancements in treating a torn Achilles.

"There's nothing about an Achilles rupture that should prevent him from coming back better than he was before," stated Dr. Stone.

Players could evolve while in elevated roles next season. The returns for those traded could help build the title team that raises Banner 19 to the TD Garden rafters. And the Celtics could get under the second apron now, affording them more flexibility in future campaigns.

The Celtics believe their championship window hasn't shut

Perhaps it's the pride of a champion, whose character was on display as it summoned the strength for one more haymaker in Boston's Game 5 win on its parquet before the gas tank emptied.

However, staring down the possibility of a season without Tatum, the Celtics believe the championship window they've worked so hard to create isn't closed.

"100 percent," said Payton Pritchard while weighing on the subject at the Auerbach Center a day after Boston's playoff elimination. "We will put a good team together. I believe people will elevate their games and have bigger roles, especially with JT being out, until he comes back, and they should take full advantage of it and be ready for those opportunities. And we will compete."

As Sam Hauser reflected on the Celtics squandering two 20-point leads in the second half of the first two games of their series vs. the Knicks, he also shifted his focus to the future.

"I think the part that stings the most is [that] there were a lot of what-ifs," Hauser expressed. "And especially in this last series, it felt like we maybe gave a couple away.

"You wish you could go back and make one more play for the team, or get one more stop, or make one more shot to have a different result than what happened. It stings, and it adds fuel to the fire for next season. Try to reload and get better and try not to have this feeling next year."

Holiday shared his remorse for not capitalizing on what, before Tatum's Achilles tear, was a golden opportunity to become the first team since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy in consecutive campaigns.

"I think it was a lost opportunity," said Jrue Holiday. "I think we had the best team in the league," continued the two-time All-Star. "We let the organization down and the city down."

The two-time NBA champion wants to return to remedy that and help bring another parade to Boston.

"I think we still have a really, really great opportunity and a great window to be successful and win a championship again," voiced Holiday. "I think the talent that we have on this team, not only on the court, but the coaching staff, all the way up to [Celtics president of basketball operations] Brad [Stevens], has been amazing. The opportunity to win is now, and I still want to be a part of it."

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday [4]
Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

However, the Celtics have $445 million in projected salary and tax penalties in 2025-26. That figure could exceed $500 million when the roster gets filled out. That means they're facing the prospect of fielding the most expensive roster in NBA history. To some extent, they will trim payroll.

"The thought of not having someone on the team next year, it's hard to wrap your head around it," said Hauser, delivering the most poignant line at Saturday's exit interviews.

Hauser's on a team-friendly deal. His cap hit is slightly north of $10 million next season. However, an exorbitant tax comes with it due to a pricy roster. As a result, the six-foot-eight sharpshooter might not just be looking at more new faces in the locker room than he's accustomed to, but he might have already donned a Kelly green jersey for the last time.

This era of Celtics basketball won't end until Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are no longer teaming in Boston. However, change is coming.

When opening night of the 2025-26 campaign arrives, Pritchard may be the only one on the team from a day of exit interviews for him, Horford, Holiday, Hauser, and Luke Kornet.

As Holiday said, "Welcome to the life of a professional athlete."