The Boston Celtics started 14-15 anticipating another rebuilding season after failing to add a superstar during the previous offseason. In mid-December, the Celtics hastened the rebuilding process by trading Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks. Approximately a month later, the Celtics dealt Jeff Green. These two deals sparked a series of trades that resulted in the Celtics roster being a revolving door of players in and out until the Trade Deadline. Despite trading away two key veterans and the constant roster flux, the Celtics played their best basketball under these conditions. From the All-Star Break to the end of the regular season, the Celtics were 20-10. This was one of the best records in the entire NBA during this period. A surprisingly successful season ultimately ended in defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers after four competitive first round games.
This left the Celtics looking at the offseason as a chance to build upon their unexpected success. The team had cap space for the first time in recent memory, after shedding some of their larger and longer term salaries. The Celtics first surprising moves were at the 2015 NBA Draft. Armed with a boatload of picks from all their previous deals, reports were that Boston made an aggressive attempt to move up in the Draft. This included offering a reported four first round picks to the Charlotte Hornets.
After their offers were rebuffed, the Celtics stayed put and drafted Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter in the first round before adding Jordan Mickey and Marcus Thornton in the Second Round. Rozier gives the Celtics another defensive minded PG, who can get to the rim. He may duplicate some of what Marcus Smart already brings to the team, but Danny Ainge has shown a liking for tough, defense first guards. Hunter could give the team a shooter on the wing, which is something the Celtics are sorely lacking. He likely needs more seasoning and should spend a lot of the year learning in the D League. Mickey was a Summer League revelation. He rebounded well, blocked shots and showed good awareness on offense. This performance, and the Celtics cap management (more on that later), earned him one of the richest contracts for a Second Round pick in league history. The Celtics hope they have added a young big who brings a different dimension than the bigs already on the roster. Thornton was drafted with the agreement he would spend the year overseas honing his game and have a chance at joining the roster for the 16-17 season.
Entering Free Agency, Boston had a goal to add talent, but not take on any long-term “bad” money, to keep maximum flexibility going forward. In the opening days of the summer, the Celtics agreed to a deal with Amir Johnson, as well as deals to re-sign Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko. The key was how the Celtics chose to time those deals. Because Crowder carried a very low Cap Hold, as a Restricted Free Agent coming off a Minimum contract, it allowed the Celtics to come to an agreement with him, but hold off on making the actual signing. This allowed Boston to make almost all their other moves first, and then to take care of re-signing Crowder.
This piece of cap management allowed Boston to make one of their bigger deals of the summer. They sent Gerald Wallace and Chris Babb (or perhaps better referred to as their contracts) to the Golden State Warriors for David Lee. With the Warriors looking to trim their Luxury Tax payment, the Celtics took a gamble that Lee has something left.
With Amir Johnson and David Lee, the Celtics now have two big men who can both swing between the PF and C spots. Both have proven to be good rebounders, while Johnson offers a defensive presence and Lee offers more on the offensive end of the court. Add those two, plus the re-signing of Jonas Jerebko, who played well as a stretch PF for the Celtics, and the Celtics have a glut of bigs on the roster. They bring back Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, and Tyler Zeller from last season, as well as adding Mickey in the Draft. As the Celtics don’t necessarily play with a true PF or C, this means they have seven players who all play essentially the same spot. Expect Danny Ainge to address this in future trades.
On the wing, the Celtics added two players who may not make the opening night roster. Perry Jones, who some see as more of a PF, and Zoran Dragic were both added in salary dumps from the Thunder and Heat respectively. With the Celtics currently carrying 17 guaranteed contracts in to the season, two players need to go. Jones and Dragic, pending further deals, seem like they are on the outside looking in. But the Celtics were able to pick up additional second round picks just for eating these deals. This is again a key reason why managing the cap and ordering their transactions was so important for Boston. Rounding out the offseason was the re-signing of Jae Crowder. Crowder proved to be a better than advertised offensive player, while providing the expected defense and hustle, after being traded to Boston. The deal he signed is essentially the equivalent, or even below it, to what the Non-Taxpayer Midlevel Exception would be under a new CBA with the rising Cap. And the Celtics now have him locked up for five years. Even if Crowder is now at the peak of his NBA abilities, he’s the type of player that good teams have.
The players moving on won’t be missed on the court as much as they may be missed for sentimental reasons. Brandon Bass was a good soldier and hard worker during his entire Boston tenure. He was just squeezed out by younger and better players. Luigi Datome became a fan favorite during his brief time in Boston, but there was no real fit for him either. Gerald Wallace provided a nice veteran presence, but seems finished as a productive NBA player on the court. Phil Pressey was waived before his contract became guaranteed. He is a nice third PG to have, but the Celtics are well stocked at that spot. Chris Babb never saw the court last year for the Celtics.
Offseason Grade: B-. In an offseason where the Celtics had little to no chance of adding a superstar player, they still did solid work. Johnson will give the Celtics defense, rebounding and toughness. That is something they lacked from their big men last year. Lee is a veteran who showed he still has something left. They will certainly get more from him than they would have from Wallace. The draft picks are all far from perfect, but all have positive attributes. The challenge for Boston is that they have a crowded frontcourt (Johnson, Lee, Sullinger, Olynyk, Zeller, Jerebko and Mickey) full of veterans who can still play and younger players who need to play. The backcourt isn’t quite as full, but has a similar problem. They have a lot of point guards who aren’t really point guards in Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas, Terry Rozier and Avery Bradley. These players are all either undersized shooting guards, scoring PGs, or defense first PGs. Maybe Smart and/or Rozier develop in to more of a true point who can run an offense, but that remains to be seen.
The lack of depth and talent on the wing is alarming, especially the lack of shooting ability. Evan Turner was the de facto PG last year and may fill that role again. Crowder is a nice player, as mentioned above, but not a lead wing for a good team. James Young and R.J. Hunter are both players who need time to develop. The Celtics hope that either of them will come along quickly and provide the shooting the team sorely needs.
Overall the Celtics had a nice offseason, but this roster is far from complete. They have a lot of players who are best served to be somewhere from the third to eighth best player on a contender. How does Brad Stevens sort through the duplication on the roster to get the most productive unit on the floor? Is Danny Ainge simply continuing to collect assets, while maintaining future cap flexibility until he can pounce on a superstar? Or is it time to consolidate those assets and go get someone? These are the questions that the Celtics fans are asking. Right now the Celtics are a rising team with nice assets. If those assets don’t turn in to something good, either through internal development or trade, the Celtics run the risk of being a treadmill team. Most are enjoying this unexpected success, but 7th and 8th seeds and first round exits are not something the Boston fans will settle for long term.