NBA Offseason: Boston Celtics

Making All the Right Moves

When Rajon Rondo went down with his season-ending knee injury I envisioned that this would likely be the last day of the big 4 Celtics. Now looking back at that piece the future of the Celtics is in Rondo's hands along with new head coach Brad Stevens.

As someone that grew up a New York sports fan, I've learned to hate Boston sports more than any other town and all I can do is applaud them for everything they've done this offseason. Instead of sticking with old players that aren't going to win them another championship they realized the time was perfect to blow up everything.

I know Celtics fans are angry about the trade that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn and the trade that sent Doc Rivers to Los Angeles, but would you rather have a team that finishes with one of the last spots in the NBA Playoffs for two years or take those two years and start building around something new?

The Trade:

Brooklyn Nets Receive:

Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry

Boston Celtics Receive:

Gerald Wallace, Kris Kardashian Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans and Kris Joseph

Nets 1st Round Picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018

None of those picks will likely be lottery picks as the Nets will likely be one of the best teams in the East for the next five years, but the Celtics will likely be able to trade some of those picks to move up in any future drafts.

Of the players they actually received in the trade, Brooks is the only player that might actually have a future in Boston as the other four players won't likely be brought back when their contracts expire. Humphries will be gone after the season and when Wallace's contract is up in three years who knows how bad he might be by then. Bogans and Joseph might not make the team this year.

The Future:

Potential Celtics Starting Lineup:

Point Guard: Rajon Rondo

Shooting Guard: Avery Bradley

Small Forward: Jeff Green

Power Forward: Jared Sullinger

Center: Kelly Olynyk

Key Bench Players:

Guard: Courtney Lee

Guard: MarShon Brooks

Forward: Kris Humphries

Forward: Gerald Wallace

Forward: Brandon Bass

This looks like a very solid lineup where another addition or two could bring the Celtics back to being a strong contender in the East. I don't know if Bradley, Sullinger or Olynyk are future all-stars but the three of them can be key role players if they have the right star(s) around them.

This team is going to be Rondo's for the next five years so Boston fans have to hope he stays healthy and learns to control his attitude better. It would also help if he developed a jump shot. 

When I look at the lineup around Rondo and Green I wouldn't be shocked if they somehow made the playoffs next year if they were all healthy. There's enough talent on this team that they'd be better than at least five teams in the East and could likely contend for the final spot.

But!!! This is the Boston Celtics who tanked the 1996-1997 season to attempt to get Tim Duncan so don't be shocked if players are sitting with "unknown injuries" or "personal reasons." Rondo will probably sit out for the majority of the season as the Celtics won't rush him back either. Here's a preview of why the Celtics might tank again 17 years later:

He looks kind of good right? Andrew Wiggins will likely be the best player in the country next year and if he was allowed to enter the NBA out of high school he would have been this year's first pick in the NBA Draft. Wiggins will be playing at Kansas for coach Bill Self next season and he is already on every NBA team's radar. His talent and potential are being compared to LeBron James and Kevin Durant so enjoy watching him for one year at the collegiate level.

Next year's draft should be much stronger than this year's so if the Celtics miss out on Wiggins they'll have options. Outside of Wiggins the Celtics will likely look at Duke's Jabari Parker, Kentucky's Julius Randle, Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart and Arizona's Aaron Gordon. Those five players will likely be at the top of next year's NBA Draft.

The Coach

Wow! The Celtics might have just stolen one of the best collegiate coaches and set their team up for the next 10 years. Brad Stevens should be given at least four or five seasons before the front office starts to think about deep playoff runs and if they allow him to build a solid foundation he's a coach that can definitely the Celtics to a championship.

Congrats, Danny Ainge, on hiring Brad Stevens. He has the demeanor of a composed leader. Hope he’s got the hide of a rhino for NBA grind.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) July 4, 2013

In Stevens' six years at Butler the Bulldogs went 166-49 and made the NCAA Tournament five of those six years. He led the Bulldogs to two straight NCAA Championship games, but fell short both times in 2010 and 2011. Most people probably can't even tell you what state Butler actually plays in and he managed to get such a small school to the championship two seasons in a row. Had Stevens stayed at Butler I think he could have actually turned that school into a basketball powerhouse for a long time.

The one thing that worries me about the Stevens signing is how him and Rondo are going to coexist. I'm not sure if Stevens will be able to handle the ego that Rondo has and this could end up being a disaster. Rondo might not actually show him respect because Stevens has never coached or played at the NBA level before and because Stevens is relatively young.

If Rondo and the Celtics are able to build with Stevens coaching then this team has a future. As a Knicks fan I hope there isn't one, but from the looks of it in five years the Celtics will be back knocking on the door. For now they will likely be enjoying the life of an NBA lottery team, but at least they still have all those championships they can think about.