How would you like to see the team approach 2026-27?

[jambr380]

But why do you think we need another max level player? We won a championship with a 37yo Al Horford basically leading the way at Center. Our core 3 are Tatum, Brown, and White. The others need to fill in around them.

It was fun having KP and Jrue on the team, but we didn?t even need one of them to go all the way. We went to several ECF with worse supporting casts.

I agree that it?s hard to win a championship and a lot depends on how Tatum and Brown age - especially Tatum coming off his Achilles tear - but there?s no reason we can?t be contenders again with Tatum back, a definitively better Center, a good rookie, and a taxpayer MLE guy in addition to what we have right now.

[tazzmaniac]

The team won't have cap space, so unless they somehow hit on the lottery, there really isn't a meaningful way to acquire the big man the team needs to be a true contender again.  So if they don't blow it up during this season, I think they should next summer and that might even mean trading Tatum. They aren't going to be a contender again with this group (unless they hit on the lottery and get a real asset to trade).

So definitive. So confident.

I would also say that I think you are wrong. Plenty of assets and ways to acquire that big man. No need to build and fake impossible situation.

They dont have the salary to acquire a max level player without trading Tatum or Brown or White plus Hauser, Pritchard, and basically everyone else.  So even if all the tradable draft picks were used, you are still losing  all the good bench players and unless they have the super high draft pick they aren't going to have the best package for someone like Giannis where it would make sense to give up the salary and still have a contender.  Ayton type big men are what Boston will be able to get, and that isn't a good enough player to elevate the team into the championship class.  So they have to hit in the lottery, without AJ Dybantsa  or maybe Peterson or Boozer, I just don't see the path to a championship.  And I realize not too many sharks my belief and maybe I will be wrong, but I'm just not convinced of a way to contending with Tatum coming back from a devastating injury and Brown and Whitenin their 30's.

Obviously Tatum coming back strong is required for the team to be a championship contender.  Assuming he does, Tatum, Brown and White is a championship core.  There's no need to add a max player.  Turner just signed with the Bucks for 4yr/107M which the Celts could afford.  Tatum, Brown, White and Turner-caliber big man would certainly be a championship contender in 26/27. 

All teams are dealing with the same financial constraints.  No team is going to be willing to stay above the 2nd apron.  OKC is about to deal with it after next season.  They'll lose Hartenstein and possibly Dort.  Top teams just aren't going to be as loaded with talent anymore.  Feel free to identify a top team that a healthy Tatum, Brown, White with some solid role players around them couldn't compete with in 26/27 and going forward.  I don't see any. 

Now it would certainly help to get a good pick next draft (even if just for trade purposes) so I'm fine with tanking.  The bigs on the team's roster so far set us up well for a soft tank next season. 

[Moranis]

Holiday was significantly better than White in both the Finals and ECF. There is no Holiday available.  Brown and Tatum aren't going to be better than they were during that season as they will both be over a decade in and Tatum will be coming off a devastating injury and Brown is becoming more and more injury prone.

Remember, this mostly healthy team lost in the 2nd round this year.  That 2nd round team had more depth and is going to better than the older more injured team 2 years from now unless the C's land that premier rookie. That is why the tank is so important this year. It is the only real way to get a player (or asset) that can make a meaningful difference.

As I said maybe I'm wrong, but no one has convinced me if a real path to contending as I just dont think the trio of Tatum, Brown, and White as good enough. They need another piece and I don't see where that piece is coming from without the premier draft pick.  Maybe they get that draft pick this year and we are good to go, but if not I do think they need to truly tank next summer or we will just plod along as a playoff team, but not a contender for a few seasons before Tatum and Brown leave and we truly start over (and do so without the better assets we could have landed if we traded them sooner).

[tazzmaniac]

Holiday was significantly better than White in both the Finals and ECF. There is no Holiday available.  Brown and Tatum aren't going to be better than they were during that season as they will both be over a decade in and Tatum will be coming off a devastating injury and Brown is becoming more and more injury prone.

Remember, this mostly healthy team lost in the 2nd round this year.  That 2nd round team had more depth and is going to better than the older more injured team 2 years from now unless the C's land that premier rookie. That is why the tank is so important this year. It is the only real way to get a player (or asset) that can make a meaningful difference.

As I said maybe I'm wrong, but no one has convinced me if a real path to contending as I just dont think the trio of Tatum, Brown, and White as good enough. They need another piece and I don't see where that piece is coming from without the premier draft pick.  Maybe they get that draft pick this year and we are good to go, but if not I do think they need to truly tank next summer or we will just plod along as a playoff team, but not a contender for a few seasons before Tatum and Brown leave and we truly start over (and do so without the better assets we could have landed if we traded them sooner).

How was the team mostly healthy in the 2nd round?  KP obviously wasn't.  Brown was playing through injury and so apparently was Jrue.  Tatum obviously went down in the 2nd round. 

We obviously need to improve a lot from this upcoming season.  Tatum coming back healthy is the 1st checkbox.  Stevens will have a lot more flexibility next off season to acquire players.  Let's say Giannis demands to be traded next offseason and Stevens is able to trade for Turner.  Do you not think Tatum (healthy), Brown, White and Turner would be championship caliber? 

[Moranis]

Holiday was significantly better than White in both the Finals and ECF. There is no Holiday available.  Brown and Tatum aren't going to be better than they were during that season as they will both be over a decade in and Tatum will be coming off a devastating injury and Brown is becoming more and more injury prone.

Remember, this mostly healthy team lost in the 2nd round this year.  That 2nd round team had more depth and is going to better than the older more injured team 2 years from now unless the C's land that premier rookie. That is why the tank is so important this year. It is the only real way to get a player (or asset) that can make a meaningful difference.

As I said maybe I'm wrong, but no one has convinced me if a real path to contending as I just dont think the trio of Tatum, Brown, and White as good enough. They need another piece and I don't see where that piece is coming from without the premier draft pick.  Maybe they get that draft pick this year and we are good to go, but if not I do think they need to truly tank next summer or we will just plod along as a playoff team, but not a contender for a few seasons before Tatum and Brown leave and we truly start over (and do so without the better assets we could have landed if we traded them sooner).

How was the team mostly healthy in the 2nd round?  KP obviously wasn't.  Brown was playing through injury and so apparently was Jrue.  Tatum obviously went down in the 2nd round. 

We obviously need to improve a lot from this upcoming season.  Tatum coming back healthy is the 1st checkbox.  Stevens will have a lot more flexibility next off season to acquire players.  Let's say Giannis demands to be traded next offseason and Stevens is able to trade for Turner.  Do you not think Tatum (healthy), Brown, White and Turner would be championship caliber?

No I don't think Turner with those 3 is good enough.  Tatum is never going to be as good as he was.  He will lose some athleticism, if nothing else.  Brown is becoming more injury prone and will be on the wrong side of 30.  He has likely also been as good as he will be.  White is a fine player, but he isn't a top 3 player on a title team (and he wasn't here as Jrue pretty clearly outperformed White in the two most important series in the title run).  Turner flamed out and was very inconsistent, as he always is again this year for Indiana.  He will have a great game every once in awhile, but he mostly just disappoints.  And to be clear, to acquire someone like Turner, Boston will likely have to trade Hauser and Pritchard or one of them and basically everyone of the younger guys just to make the salaries work.  I'm not sure that even makes Boston better, let alone elevate them up.

We saw this year that Tatum, Brown, and White as the 3 best players was a team that lost in the 2nd round, and that is a team that had banged up Jrue and KP, and Horford. None of which are going to be on the team in 2 seasons (let alone this one). And I understand Brown was "injured", but he was he pretty darn good against the Magic.  The knee only "bothered" him when the Celtics played the Knicks who matched up very well with the Celtics.  In other words, when the Celtics played a better team that could actually guard him, his numbers went way down (which also happened to Tatum and basically everyone else).  The Knicks were simply a bad matchup for the Celtics, and I don't see that as changing any time soon. 

Boston needs a guy like AJ Dybantsa in the draft to have any reasonable shot at winning the title in the next 3 seasons.  It may just be to trade him, but without that sort of asset, there just isn't enough talent and isn't a reasonable way to acquire it.  I very well may be wrong, but I just haven't seen anyone really describe a way to contention without hitting in the lottery this year (and I simply just disagree with the idea that Tatum, Brown, and White are going to be good enough at the top of the roster in 2 seasons and on).

[keevsnick]

Holiday was significantly better than White in both the Finals and ECF. There is no Holiday available.  Brown and Tatum aren't going to be better than they were during that season as they will both be over a decade in and Tatum will be coming off a devastating injury and Brown is becoming more and more injury prone.

Remember, this mostly healthy team lost in the 2nd round this year.  That 2nd round team had more depth and is going to better than the older more injured team 2 years from now unless the C's land that premier rookie. That is why the tank is so important this year. It is the only real way to get a player (or asset) that can make a meaningful difference.

As I said maybe I'm wrong, but no one has convinced me if a real path to contending as I just dont think the trio of Tatum, Brown, and White as good enough. They need another piece and I don't see where that piece is coming from without the premier draft pick.  Maybe they get that draft pick this year and we are good to go, but if not I do think they need to truly tank next summer or we will just plod along as a playoff team, but not a contender for a few seasons before Tatum and Brown leave and we truly start over (and do so without the better assets we could have landed if we traded them sooner).

How was the team mostly healthy in the 2nd round?  KP obviously wasn't.  Brown was playing through injury and so apparently was Jrue.  Tatum obviously went down in the 2nd round. 

We obviously need to improve a lot from this upcoming season.  Tatum coming back healthy is the 1st checkbox.  Stevens will have a lot more flexibility next off season to acquire players.  Let's say Giannis demands to be traded next offseason and Stevens is able to trade for Turner.  Do you not think Tatum (healthy), Brown, White and Turner would be championship caliber?

It's far from a guarantee, but with a little luck they'd certainly have a chance.

If they got a center of "Myles Turner" or better quality while keeping Pritchard and Hauser as bench guys and developing at least 1 of their draft picks into a playoff rotation level player that would amount to the core of a really great team.

Use next year to develop young guys and get a decent draft pic then flip financial flexibility/draft picks into a good to great starring level big seems to be the direction they are going, given that the Tatum/brown/White trio is a proven championship level core I'd say its the right approach.

[tenn_smoothie]

Very thoughtful ideas posted here and by CS members more knowledgeable about the Gawd-forsaken CBA than I am.
Yes, I think you keep the 3-headed perimeter core intact along with quality role players and find a way to replace Porzingis/Horford with some younger, more dynamic interior talent.

The last step would be to bring in the best coach we can find for '26-'27 to replace Mazzulla.
Replacing Joe with a solid coach will be worth about the same value as adding an all-star level player to the roster.

[slightly biased bias fan]

If I was to guess, Porzingis will come back to Boston on a reduced salary, but locked into a long term deal.

The biggest question mark for me is the point guard situation. The Celtics have been lacking in that regard for a long time. Perhaps the last real point guard the team had was Irving. Prichard is just too much of a defensive liability in the playoffs due to his height.

Although he is not a point guard, a great fit would be Austin Reaves. Given Reaves will definitely opt out of his current deal at seasons end, I think he would be too expensive.

[SHAQATTACK]

I got my tank drivers helmet on . 

Gonna be a lot of bricks flying around .

[Vermont Green]

It is a fair debate as to whether a 2026-27 team built around Tatum, Brown, and White is good enough.  I think it is, far better than the alternative of a team built around rookies and future draft picks.

I look at is as having about $57M to spend in 2026-27.  That accounts for Simons and Niang (about $36M in contracts) and the fact that the 2nd apron is expected to go up about 10% (about $21M).  We will also have a decent draft pick to use or trade.  Niang and Simons could be traded for players or TPE.  We have the Porzingis TPE until Jul 7, 2027.

All that is not going to get BOS another superstar on max contract.  But it should be able to get BOS some decent starting level players to put around the core.  To me, that is Plan A.  The earliest I start thinking about blowing up the core of this team is summer 2027.  Until then, I only trade White or Brown or Tatum for a different core player.

[Roy H.]

It is a fair debate as to whether a 2026-27 team built around Tatum, Brown, and White is good enough.  I think it is, far better than the alternative of a team built around rookies and future draft picks.

I look at is as having about $57M to spend in 2026-27.  That accounts for Simons and Niang (about $36M in contracts) and the fact that the 2nd apron is expected to go up about 10% (about $21M).  We will also have a decent draft pick to use or trade.  Niang and Simons could be traded for players or TPE.  We have the Porzingis TPE until Jul 7, 2027.

What is the $57 million based upon?

Spotrac has us as $41.7 million under the second apron in 2026-27.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/yearly

[celticinorlando]

A lot of people have said 2027 is the year they can start to really challenge. I honestly think in 2027 we will see the J's broken up with JB sent out.

As for next season:

Core: JT, JB, White, PP, Hauser, Dame (hopefully), Baylor, Hugo

Gone: Walsh, Garza (maybe), Minott, Davison, Queta, Simons, Niang and Tillman

Still will need a functional front court but the goal should be to challenge in a still weak East..

-Cavs will be shedding pieces like the Cs did after this upcoming season. They will not be a factor
-Knicks will be older and have a lame duck coach
-Pacers will have no Turner and will have Hali back after Achillies
-Bucks I am not sure what they will do being in cap hell

in 2026 with some additions, Boston should be the best team in the East.

[Donoghus]

A lot of people have said 2027 is the year they can start to really challenge. I honestly think in 2027 we will see the J's broken up with JB sent out.

As for next season:

Core: JT, JB, White, PP, Hauser, Dame (hopefully), Baylor, Hugo

Gone: Walsh, Garza (maybe), Minott, Davison, Queta, Simons, Niang and Tillman

Still will need a functional front court but the goal should be to challenge in a still weak East..

-Cavs will be shedding pieces like the Cs did after this upcoming season. They will not be a factor
-Knicks will be older and have a lame duck coach
-Pacers will have no Turner and will have Hali back after Achillies
-Bucks I am not sure what they will do being in cap hell

in 2026 with some additions, Boston should be the best team in the East.

Orlando is going to be a problem in the East

[Vermont Green]

It is a fair debate as to whether a 2026-27 team built around Tatum, Brown, and White is good enough.  I think it is, far better than the alternative of a team built around rookies and future draft picks.

I look at is as having about $57M to spend in 2026-27.  That accounts for Simons and Niang (about $36M in contracts) and the fact that the 2nd apron is expected to go up about 10% (about $21M).  We will also have a decent draft pick to use or trade.  Niang and Simons could be traded for players or TPE.  We have the Porzingis TPE until Jul 7, 2027.

What is the $57 million based upon?

Spotrac has us as $41.7 million under the second apron in 2026-27.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/yearly

I had a higher number for the 2026-27 second apron.  It is a projection in any case.  I can't remember where I got my number.  Plus I didn't account for the increase in existing contracts, so I was high due to this.  There is still a fair amount of money to be spent for the 2026-27 season while still staying under the 2nd apron, once Simons and Niang are gone and the cap values are increased.

They could decide to spend some of that on Simons.  I don't expect that, but Simons is no slouch. 

[Roy H.]

It is a fair debate as to whether a 2026-27 team built around Tatum, Brown, and White is good enough.  I think it is, far better than the alternative of a team built around rookies and future draft picks.

I look at is as having about $57M to spend in 2026-27.  That accounts for Simons and Niang (about $36M in contracts) and the fact that the 2nd apron is expected to go up about 10% (about $21M).  We will also have a decent draft pick to use or trade.  Niang and Simons could be traded for players or TPE.  We have the Porzingis TPE until Jul 7, 2027.

What is the $57 million based upon?

Spotrac has us as $41.7 million under the second apron in 2026-27.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/yearly

I had a higher number for the 2026-27 second apron.  It is a projection in any case.  I can't remember where I got my number.  Plus I didn't account for the increase in existing contracts, so I was high due to this.  There is still a fair amount of money to be spent for the 2026-27 season while still staying under the 2nd apron, once Simons and Niang are gone and the cap values are increased.

They could decide to spend some of that on Simons.  I don't expect that, but Simons is no slouch.

I think that Spotrac's number takes into account a full 10% bump.  The apron numbers could be lower than that, but not higher.  It also looks like they account for one unfilled roster charge, which will disappear as soon as we fill somebody

EDIT:

I stand corrected.  Spotrac's numbers are based upon the league's projections, which only expect a 7% bump in the cap, rather than a 10% bump.  If revenue outpaces the projections, the Celts could end up with at least $5 million more to spend.

Fingers crossed for an epic season and playoffs.  Bring that money in, NBA.