Amid Durant rumors, a reminder of where current Celtics stand

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/celtics-have-embarrassment-riches-amid-kevin-durant-rumors



Amid Durant rumors, a reminder of where current Celtics stand


23H AGO

BY CHRIS FORSBERG
NBC SPORTS


It’s late July and the biggest consternation in Celtics land is whether the team, fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals, ought to trade a 25-year-old All-Star for a soon-to-be 34-year-old former MVP.

Boston, regardless of whether it makes a big-splash deal, is widely projected to win the most regular-season games next season and is the favorite to win the NBA title.

It’s an embarrassment of riches. And, amid the consternation about rumors, it’s probably good to remember just how good this team has it right now.

While hope springs eternal every summer for all 30 NBA teams, few can confidently enjoy the August doldrums knowing their team is truly positioned to compete for a title. The Celtics, if they don’t make another move beyond filling out their depth charts with small-splash additions, have improved. One of the common refrains we heard in Las Vegas from executives was, "If the Celtics had their current roster in June, they would probably be NBA champions."


Jayson Tatum showed up to a movie premiere in New York on Tuesday night and got peppered with questions about Kevin Durant and rumors of the Celtics pondering a swap involving Jaylen Brown. Tatum adeptly Euro-stepped through the potentially prickly questions and delivered a firm message.

"I love our team," said Tatum.

He should. The Celtics are set up to be deeper next year, and there will be internal competition that will force a bench unit that stumbled in the Finals to pick up its play. What should be even more exciting to Celtics fans is Tatum and Brown taking another step forward and potentially shuffling even higher in the NBA hierarchy.

You can fret about Al Horford’s age and his ability to maintain last season's production at age 36. We did the same before he turned back the clock at age 35. You can fret Robert Williams’ health woes, but he gutted out a playoff run on one healthy knee and has still only scratched the surface of his potential. Early odds have him as the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year.

Marcus Smart thrived as quarterback of the offense last season. Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari should give Boston’s bench a veteran jolt of consistency. Derrick White will enjoy more continuity after latching on midstream. Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard have motivation to improve to ensure desired floor time. Ime Udoka should be even more comfortable in Year 2 in the pilot’s chair.

Some will suggest the path back to the NBA Finals won’t be as easy for Boston. We’re not sure we’d say that a Brooklyn-Milwaukee-Miami path was particularly ideal or easy, but certainly the Celtics caught a couple breaks along the way with the Nets’ dysfunction, Khris Middleton’s absence, and the Heat’s offensive inconsistency.

But last season was quite the lesson for these Celtics. This core had already been in a lot of big games, and now they’ve been in a whole bunch more. This team battled in two humongous Game 7s to get to the Finals, where a veteran team showed the C's what it takes to thrive on the championship stage.


One of the common refrains we heard in Las Vegas from executives was, 'If the Celtics had their current roster in June, they would probably be NBA champions.' - Chris Forsberg


President of basketball operations Brad Stevens deserves credit for his bold use of draft picks to craft a championship-caliber roster. He’s built a team in which all of the pieces complement one another and are pulling in the same direction. Stevens has spoken repeatedly about the fragility of teams and expressed appreciation for how this group fits together while playing to the style that Udoka desires on both ends of the floor.

Talent is king in the NBA, so it’s understandable that Stevens and his front office crew have to explore all opportunities for elite talent like Durant. Whether Monday’s news of Boston’s offer was just due diligence on the Celtics' part or the team asserting itself as a legitimate suitor with a willingness to make Brown a centerpiece ought to become clearer in time (though we’d lean heavy towards the former).

Whether there’s a big splash to come or not, the Celtics are positioned to be a title contender for a long time. There are no guarantees in the NBA, but with much of the core in place long-term, there’s no reason to think the Celtics should fade anytime soon.

Not a lot of teams enjoy that luxury. Most teams feel like they’re sort of stuck in the middle. Some swallow hard and hit the painful reboot button. Others are just trying to stay in the title mix without a surefire road map to what comes next.

As the Durant situation highlights, the Celtics have a whole bunch of solid options. And the most desirable one might just be embracing what they’ve already built and seeing if they can get to the finish line of this wild journey with Tatum and Brown as the pillars.


Bob
MY NOTE:   The fact that the Celtics are considered to have the best package that could be offered for Durant should tell you how good we already are without Durant.  You cannot offer something you don't have, and if we've got the goods to offer that means we got the goods.  That is especially true given our alleged offer was heavy on players and light on draft picks.

One of the common refrains we heard in Las Vegas from executives was, 'If the Celtics had their current roster in June, they would probably be NBA champions.'  Unless they were shining Forsberg on why would we break up a team that they think would have won last June when that June is done and gone and this June is in front of us?  Can anybody point to a team that has improved that much from last year they can leapfrog our team last year?  Milwaukee, with the return of Khris Middleton.  I'll give them that, but we'd be going against them this year with this year's team and this team's bench is vastly superior with the additions of Brogdon and Gallinari.  All we need is a replacement for Theis, our 3rd string center, and we're as good or better, deeper, and more seasoned at every position than last year.



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Bob

The Celtics certainly did not sit on their hands.

I really like their additions.

I expect the Bucks will be very good because they will have their big three back together. Assuming of course that KM has no lingering issues. A fully recovered Ingles should help their floor spacing but I do not see where they have addressed the slippage in there defense which became apparent last year.

The Sixers should be better on defense because they have added veteran thug PJ Tucker. I still do not think their center depth is close to adequate with Embid being backed up by developing prospect Charles Bassey. At least they will have harden to start the season and maybe the team chemistry will be better.

Miami won the regular season but they have had an uninspiring off season. They really have not done anything to improve their team No PJ Tucker.

Joe Ingles just signed with the Bucks. They will be our main competitition.

Aron Baynes is recovering remarkably from his neck injury and will be playing in Australia. Look for the Celts to sign him come December.

So young and so innocent…Took this picture when I covered C’s for Cumulus Media in 07-08
-Durant’s Rookie year in Seattle.

worcester wrote:Joe Ingles just signed with the Bucks. They will be our main competitition.

Aron Baynes is recovering remarkably from his neck injury and will be playing in Australia. Look for the Celts to sign him come December.

W

I think it will be a competitive race for #2 between the Bucks, Sixers and Heat while the Celtics smoke every and all manner of competition.

The 2022-23 Celtics team could be epic if their health holds up.

Will someone Please sell their team so they can have Kevin Durant on their ? These stories are getting wilder every day. These Reporters are playingGMand, in my opinion have way over valued Mr KD.
Now Iread Chris Broussard , fool of all fools, is saying g Brooklyn shove demand JB, Smart AND RWIi. Give me a break. I am hoping Brad chuckled and threw the paper away. This is way out of hand, he is not worth gutting your team and pissing off three quarters of your fans

Somebody, anybody, just take this guy off the trading block

Gotta agree with Rosalie. I'm sick of hearing about fake twitter account. You'd think he was Garnett, Allen and Pierce all in one to hear some of the slobbering over him.

worcester wrote:The 2022-23 Celtics team could be epic if their health holds up.

They could certainly be very good. The additions they made should make them the early favorite for a ring. My concerns are 1. Injuries and 2. Tatum proved last year to me that while he is a very good player he is not an elite player who can lead his team to a championship. He is best viewed as a #2 option IMO and we have no #1 option. Durant would give us that luxury, though I would hate to part with JB.

Pumpsie, I looked up your namesake and this is what I found:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpsie_Green

Too bad Tom Yawkey was such a racist and waited until 1959 to have a black player on the Red Sox, Pumpsie being the first.

worcester wrote:Pumpsie, I looked up your namesake and this is what I found:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpsie_Green

Too bad Tom Yawkey was such a racist and waited until 1959 to have a black player on the Red Sox, Pumpsie being the first.

His brother Cornell was a multiple pro bowl Defensive Back for the Cowboys in the 60’s and early 70’s.

Yes...from El Cerrito California.

Jay King @ByJayKing
about 1 hour ago
The Celtics are preparing to hold a training camp competition for their final roster spots, I was told.


Bob
MY NOTE:  This dashes my hope for a veteran 3rd string center a bit.  Still, we have so many open slots Brad could sign a veteran on his back 9 for the minimum and still be able to have competition for a few more.  Once past this 3rd stringer they should definitely look for players that have a decent shot at an NBA career with the addition of seasoning and training.  Sam Hauser got his, Matt Ryan might too.  Kabengele possibly although he's a bit of an old school PF and bigs have to be able to play multiple positions and shoot from range now.  Caboclo?  He has the size, and especially the wingspan (7'7"!!) to be a great 3-and-D wing.  Too bad he can't shoot 3s and never showed himself to be the hyper-focused defender his body should have told him to be.  I can't help but wonder if that was lack of ganas or poor coaching? He was drafted by and played > 3 years for Nick Nurse in Toronto, so the problem is probably not coaching. Nurse and his coaching staff do a pretty good job of player development. I wish we could say the same thing about Nesmith, Kornet, Romeo and Carsen Edwards.


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