2026-27 Celtics Off Season Discussion

[timpiker]

I thought the team we had this year was just fine, proving I don't know much.

[Roy H.]

I thought the team we had this year was just fine, proving I don't know much.

Yeah, I was actually excited for the playoffs.

[Who]

If we don't trade a core piece, I'd be happy signing Sexton and Taurean Prince, and trading our first for Yves Messi.

You are OK with a big rotation of Queta, Messi, and Garza (plus maybe Williams if he develops)?

Not really, but who else is there?

I'd like Vuc back, but Joe misuses him.  I can't imagine he'd want to return.

I have no good answer other than Giannis. I am not that familiar with Messi. Is better than Vucevic?

It is Missi with an "i". Yves Missi. Lionel Messi must have overtaken sports news in recent months

Missi is a fairly raw athletic big man. He plays with energy but limited know-how. Shows a little potential beyond being a garbage man on offense with the occassional drive from the top of the key and some average passing from there as well.

He doesn't have much impact on defense because he doesn't know what he is doing. He hasn't figured it out yet. He took a step backwards last season which was disappointing. I thought he would beat out D Queen because Missi was more limited but less mistake prone. That wasn't the case. Seemed to sulk over his lack of opportunities as well.

Missi has decent size. Around 6-10/6-11. Decent strength but still below average. Above average speed & overall mobility. So he has good physical tools. Good tools for being a quality NBA defender. He should become a quality NBA defender. The only way he doesn't is if he doesn't work hard enough which is why his performance last year was a concern. Did not work as hard he should. Did not improve his defense. Then sorta gave up after he lost playing time to the rookie D Queen.

He would be a decent backup big man for us. Probably in the top end of the middle of the pack bench centers. He wouldn't be a stopper on the likes of Embiid or Towns. He doesn't have the basics defensively yet or bulk physically to combat them.

He would be an upgrade on Garza.
He would be a downgrade on Vucevic.

He would probably be a lateral move on the Vucevic we saw in the playoffs who Mazzula did not involve in the offense. If Vooch was involved, he'd be a major upgrade over Missi. If not involved, Missi is more different (athletic rim runner vs skilled 7 footer) than better or worse than Vooch.

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Sorry, I should add. There is upside there with Missi. Similar to Queta. He learns the basics defensively and he could become a starter quality center within 1-2 years.

Hard work and mastery on defensive fundamentals. He is a willing defender. He is not a guy you have cajole into playing D. He will play D. He just doesn't know what he is doing. So the results are less than the effort expanded. It will be how coachable he is and how hard he is willing to work.

[Vermont Green]

Thanks Who for the breakdown on Missi, I didn't even know how to spell his name.

What do people think about John Collins.  The last 3 seasons he has been pretty consistent, 15 or so points, 7 or so Rebs, 39-ish% from 3.  He will be 29 for the start of the season.  Any sense for what kind of money he will get?  I have hardly seen him play over the last few seasons.  What is his problem?  Of the rotation players on LAC, he had the worst NRtg (-1.2).  I know he isn't a center but he is a legit PF (also a need).  Any chance of a reclamation with him?

[Vermont Green]

Another interesting target to me is Lauri Markkanen.  I worked in Helsinki for a year so I have some bias toward Finns.  It seems to me that Kessler is their Center and Jaren Jackson is there PF.  If Markkanen is used as a SF, that to me seems grossly out of position.  He is a PF at worst and maybe more of a C.  He certainly could play C for BOS.  There are durability concerns with Markkanen, but last season may be more about UTA shutting everyone down so they would not lose their pick to OKC.  In the 42 games he did play, 27 and 7 with about 35% 3P%. 

Any trade would have to start with Brown.  A straight up trade does work in terms of money even though Brown makes $11M more.  But UTA would have to add picks or other pieces to make the value work.  Brown seems like a perfect fit for UTA.  A Brown Jackson 1-2 punch is pretty solid, then add all the up and coming young players.

[jambr380]

Another interesting target to me is Lauri Markkanen.  I worked in Helsinki for a year so I have some bias toward Finns.  It seems to me that Kessler is their Center and Jaren Jackson is there PF.  If Markkanen is used as a SF, that to me seems grossly out of position.  He is a PF at worst and maybe more of a C.  He certainly could play C for BOS.  There are durability concerns with Markkanen, but last season may be more about UTA shutting everyone down so they would not lose their pick to OKC.  In the 42 games he did play, 27 and 7 with about 35% 3P%. 

Any trade would have to start with Brown.  A straight up trade does work in terms of money even though Brown makes $11M more.  But UTA would have to add picks or other pieces to make the value work.  Brown seems like a perfect fit for UTA.  A Brown Jackson 1-2 punch is pretty solid, then add all the up and coming young players.

I had suggested Lauri and top 4 pick or Lauri and Ace. The fact that they landed #2 might have put the first option out of reach and I'm not sure where to gauge Ace's potential at this point.

Not saying I definitely would do it, but I can see the allure for Utah. That team would be primed to compete with Jaylen coming in, JJJ healthy, and some solid younger depth. Jaylen is also a Danny guy, so I'm sure they'd love to have him.

[Roy H.]

Another interesting target to me is Lauri Markkanen.  I worked in Helsinki for a year so I have some bias toward Finns.  It seems to me that Kessler is their Center and Jaren Jackson is there PF.  If Markkanen is used as a SF, that to me seems grossly out of position.  He is a PF at worst and maybe more of a C.  He certainly could play C for BOS.  There are durability concerns with Markkanen, but last season may be more about UTA shutting everyone down so they would not lose their pick to OKC.  In the 42 games he did play, 27 and 7 with about 35% 3P%. 

Any trade would have to start with Brown.  A straight up trade does work in terms of money even though Brown makes $11M more.  But UTA would have to add picks or other pieces to make the value work.  Brown seems like a perfect fit for UTA.  A Brown Jackson 1-2 punch is pretty solid, then add all the up and coming young players.

I had suggested Lauri and top 4 pick or Lauri and Ace. The fact that they landed #2 might have put the first option out of reach and I'm not sure where to gauge Ace's potential at this point.

Not saying I definitely would do it, but I can see the allure for Utah. That team would be primed to compete with Jaylen coming in, JJJ healthy, and some solid younger depth. Jaylen is also a Danny guy, so I'm sure they'd love to have him.

JB would quickly put Utah into cap he'll.  They're better off staying the course.

[byennie]

I realize folks might not be overly excited for this one, and maybe I'm failing Cap Management 101, but Chicago?

They have a pile of UFAs ready to come off the books to the point where Jaylen Brown for Giddey + picks works and saves us like $30M/year. They're a major market always searching for a #1 guy, and they have the #4 pick. Would they rather build around Brown and Buzelis than keep Giddey and gamble on pick #4?

[Who]

I realize folks might not be overly excited for this one, and maybe I'm failing Cap Management 101, but Chicago?

They have a pile of UFAs ready to come off the books to the point where Jaylen Brown for Giddey + picks works and saves us like $30M/year. They're a major market always searching for a #1 guy, and they have the #4 pick. Would they rather build around Brown and Buzelis than keep Giddey and gamble on pick #4?

That is a creative idea. I haven't heard that one before. Nice one, good idea. 

G: D White
F: Giddey
F: Tatum
F: Caleb Wilson
C: Queta

Or maybe bring Caleb Wilson off the bench as a rookie.

G: Pritchard
G: D White
F: Giddey
F: Tatum, Caleb Wilson
C: Queta

I would like to have a quick wing defender to play alongside Giddey. He is slow. Tough for him to defend guards. Better on SFs. It would be a slow-ish team. Giddey and Tatum not speedsters. Wilson fast for a PF but not for a wing. D White the only player with guard quickness.

Even though it wouldn't be the fastest team, it would be a joy to watch in transition. Giddey is fantastic in the open floor. Wilson is a great finisher running the court and capable of pushing the ball himself off of a rebound. More a question of defensive quickness & perhaps dribble penetration in the halfcourt. Even more reliant on Tatum than before. 

Giddey, Tatum, C Wilson would give you three strong rebounds 2 through 4. D White a strong PG rebounder and Queta in the middle. That should be one of the top rebounding units in the league.

Also a question of "is there enough outside shooting?". Giddey is a low level outside shooter. As is Caleb Wilson. Queta a non-shooter. That leaves only Tatum & D White as credible outside threats. So it might be tough to play both Giddey & C Wilson until Wilson develops his outside shot enough.

On another note, I love the lineup with Pritchard in there. Ideally we'd have a bigger more versatile defensive wing to help Giddey more but the offense would be a lot of fun with 4 guys who can all create off the dribble with Queta rolling to the rim.

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I think it comes down to how bullish one is about Caleb Wilson. Is he an All-Star talent? How confident are you in him becoming an All-Star? 30%? 50%? 70%? 90%? How long will he take to reach All-Star performance level? Can he do it by year 2 or year 3? If it is longer than that, will be waste too much of Tatum's prime?

I am not bullish on Giddey. I love watching him. His passing, ball-handling and teamwork are a joy to see. But he is still a subpar defender, subpar shooter and has mediocre overall scoring efficiency. So he has less impact than a guy should have who is putting up raw numbers like he is (big numbers). I see him firmly in the 3rd / 4th option zone as a player rather than the top player or main sidekick on a title contender. So Caleb Wilson is one I would be looking at to be the #2 option to Tatum in order for this to become a title contender again.

[Who]

Another interesting target to me is Lauri Markkanen.

Utah with Markkanen = 17 wins 25 losses (33 win pace)
Without Markkanen = 5 wins 35 losses (10 win pace)

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There was some stat earlier in the year about Utah's offense when Markkanen and Keyonte George were on the floor together. That they had a 120+ offensive rating (I forget exact number) regardless of who the other 3 players were. A league best or near league best offensive rating.

[Vermont Green]

Another interesting target to me is Lauri Markkanen.  I worked in Helsinki for a year so I have some bias toward Finns.  It seems to me that Kessler is their Center and Jaren Jackson is there PF.  If Markkanen is used as a SF, that to me seems grossly out of position.  He is a PF at worst and maybe more of a C.  He certainly could play C for BOS.  There are durability concerns with Markkanen, but last season may be more about UTA shutting everyone down so they would not lose their pick to OKC.  In the 42 games he did play, 27 and 7 with about 35% 3P%. 

Any trade would have to start with Brown.  A straight up trade does work in terms of money even though Brown makes $11M more.  But UTA would have to add picks or other pieces to make the value work.  Brown seems like a perfect fit for UTA.  A Brown Jackson 1-2 punch is pretty solid, then add all the up and coming young players.

I had suggested Lauri and top 4 pick or Lauri and Ace. The fact that they landed #2 might have put the first option out of reach and I'm not sure where to gauge Ace's potential at this point.

Not saying I definitely would do it, but I can see the allure for Utah. That team would be primed to compete with Jaylen coming in, JJJ healthy, and some solid younger depth. Jaylen is also a Danny guy, so I'm sure they'd love to have him.

JB would quickly put Utah into cap he'll.  They're better off staying the course.

UTA is at about $142M for 2026/27.  Brown makes $11M more that Markkanen, which would put them at $153M.  And they would have to send an additional young player back as well.  Keyonte George is due for a new deal in 2027/28.  They have to pay Kessler if they want to keep him.  At some point, they will not be able to extend all their draft picks but their core would be Brown and Jackson (total about $106M).  I don't see how Brown vs. Markkanen makes all that much difference to how they will have to manage these rookie extensions over time.  Brown seems like a way better fit to put with Jackson than Markkanen.  That could be a top tandem from day 1 and for 5 seasons.  At that point, whatever rookies they have decided to keep will be ready to take over.

This seems like an easy deal for UTA to me.  I see the issue more as what UTA sends back in addition to Markkanen to make the deal work for BOS.  I suspect that BOS would do Markkanen and Keyonte George, but that is probably too rich for UTA.  Maybe someone like Cody Williams could get it done, I don't know, that probably is not enough to interest BOS.  So something in between, but I don't know what that is.  UTA is not going to be able to extend all their rookies, they will have to sell some off at some point.

[Who]

Chicago - With or Without - Josh Giddey

With Giddey = 21 wins 33 losses (32 win pace)
Without Giddey = 10 wins 18 losses (29 win pace)

Little difference in terms of wins and losses with or without Josh Giddey. This despite Giddey averaging 17ppg 9.1apg 8.3rpg on 45% FG 36% 3PT 76% FT 56% TS with 3.6 turnovers per game.

The year before Giddey played 70 games. They had 33 wins and 37 losses with Giddey and 6 wins 6 losses in the 12 games without Giddey. Again no meaningful difference. Giddey averaged 14.6ppg 7.2apg 8.1rpg on 46.5% FG 37.8% 3PT 78% FT 57% TS with 2.9 turnovers per game.

So no real difference in Chicago's wins or losses depending on whether Giddey plays or not over his 2 seasons with the team. 124 games played vs 40 games missed. Decent sample size.

[Vermont Green]

Another interesting target to me is Lauri Markkanen.

Utah with Markkanen = 17 wins 25 losses (33 win pace)
Without Markkanen = 5 wins 35 losses (10 win pace)

There was some stat earlier in the year about Utah's offense when Markkanen and Keyonte George were on the floor together. That they had a 120+ offensive rating (I forget exact number) regardless of who the other 3 players were. A league best or near league best offensive rating.

Interesting analysis as usual by Who.  Markkanen is an enigmatic player in my mind.  UTA plays him as a 3rd front court player, essentially the SF, which makes no sense to me.  Playing Kessler-Jackson-Markkanen together makes no sense.  Kessler-Jackson-Brown makes way more sense to me.  Much better defense, enough offense, to me, that would be very strong front court.  Add their young players for the back court and that team can be right there.

I would want to see BOS use Markkanen as a big, center at times, PF at times, like they used Horford.  I know there would be issues in switches, it is not like he can defend like Horford out on the perimeter.  And he is not going to block shots at the rim like Porzingis, he seems like something in between.  Not as good as Horford on the perimeter but better than Porzingis.  Not quite Porzingis at the rim but someone who can still alter some shots.  And he can score better than either.  He definitely should not be defending SFs.

All that said, he never seems to really fulfill his potential wherever he has been.  The numbers always looks good, but there always seems to be something missing.

[Vermont Green]

Chicago - With or Without - Josh Giddey

With Giddey = 21 wins 33 losses (32 win pace)
Without Giddey = 10 wins 18 losses (29 win pace)

Little difference in terms of wins and losses with or without Josh Giddey. This despite Giddey averaging 17ppg 9.1apg 8.3rpg on 45% FG 36% 3PT 76% FT 56% TS with 3.6 turnovers per game.

The year before Giddey played 70 games. They had 33 wins and 37 losses with Giddey and 6 wins 6 losses in the 12 games without Giddey. Again no meaningful difference. Giddey averaged 14.6ppg 7.2apg 8.1rpg on 46.5% FG 37.8% 3PT 78% FT 57% TS with 2.9 turnovers per game.

So no real difference in Chicago's wins or losses depending on whether Giddey plays or not over his 2 seasons with the team. 124 games played vs 40 games missed. Decent sample size.

I don't have a good sense for Giddey.  Just have not seen him play enough.  23 years old, with some apparent ceiling, on a reasonable contract for a rebuilding team.  Is he just another Zach Levine?  I don't see this making any sense for BOS unless you believe Giddey is about to explode and become and all-NBA level player next season.  I would buy Giddey and the Pick to MIL and Giannis to BOS, but I am not sure if that is enough for MIL.  Maybe add some BOS future picks to MIL.

[jambr380]

Chicago - With or Without - Josh Giddey

With Giddey = 21 wins 33 losses (32 win pace)
Without Giddey = 10 wins 18 losses (29 win pace)

Little difference in terms of wins and losses with or without Josh Giddey. This despite Giddey averaging 17ppg 9.1apg 8.3rpg on 45% FG 36% 3PT 76% FT 56% TS with 3.6 turnovers per game.

The year before Giddey played 70 games. They had 33 wins and 37 losses with Giddey and 6 wins 6 losses in the 12 games without Giddey. Again no meaningful difference. Giddey averaged 14.6ppg 7.2apg 8.1rpg on 46.5% FG 37.8% 3PT 78% FT 57% TS with 2.9 turnovers per game.

So no real difference in Chicago's wins or losses depending on whether Giddey plays or not over his 2 seasons with the team. 124 games played vs 40 games missed. Decent sample size.

You can do this same thing with Jaylen Brown, too, only the Celtics are consistently worse when he does play than when he doesn't.

All-time: .653 with, .714 without
25-26: .662 with, .818 without

And in case you're wondering, Tatum all-time: .674 with, .615 without

Doing this exercise doesn't always work the way you want it to work. There are so many variables like if a player is really injured or they are taking a rest game against an easy opponent. Josh Giddey isn't necessarily a future superstar, but he is a good player who makes his teammates better. A true win-win trade for OKC-CHI.