Celtics news: 3 offseason moves Boston must make if the season doesn't resume

If the 2019-20 NBA season does not resume, these are three moves the Boston Celtics must make during the upcoming offseason.

Let's operate under the assumption that the 2019-20 NBA campaign is toast. I'm not saying it will be, but let's pretend for now that the next step is the offseason. That will open up a world of possibilities for teams around the league. One interesting club to monitor this coming summer is the Boston Celtics.

Prior to the league's suspension, the Celtics were one of the biggest surprises in the NBA and seemed poised to actually make a run at the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

A young team with a lot of upcoming talent, Boston should be good for years to come.

But the C's still have some things to work out.

Here are three moves the Celtics must make this offseason:

3. Sign a veteran bench scorer

As good as Boston had looked this season, it had one obvious flaw: the bench.

Yes, the Celtics' talent-laden starting lineup compensated for their lack of depth during the regular season, but that is something that probably would have reared its ugly head in the playoffs (and still may depending on whether or not the season resumes).

This is a hole that the C's aren't all that used to. Over the years, the Celtics have generally always had deep benches, and that has always been a big reason why Boston has had so much success.

But right now, it's obvious that the Celtics lack a veteran scorer off the pine. How much cap room Boston will actually have remains to be seen, but if it has some wiggle room, going out and getting a wing or a guard who can come in and get some instant buckets (a la Marcus Morris) should be near the top of the club's priority list.

To be fair, it's entirely possible that some of the Celtics' young bench talent (such as Romeo Langford, Robert Williams and Carsen Edwards) emerges next season, but it would certainly behoove the C's to add some experience off the bench.

2. Extend Gordon Hayward

The Gordon Hayward situation is tricky.

Hayward has a $34.1 million player option for next season, and the general consensus is that he will pick it up. But the Celtics should try and convince Hayward to opt out and re-sign on a long-term deal.

That way, Boston can cut Hayward's cap number for 2020-21 while also ensuring that he will be around long term.

After a rough first couple of seasons in Beantown that included a season-ending broken leg injury on opening night in 2017-18 followed by a clumsy return in 2018-19, Hayward was looking brilliant prior to the pause this year.

As a matter of fact, a legitimate argument can be made that Hayward was the Celtics' second-best player, as he was averaging 17.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 50.2 percent from the floor, 39.2 percent from three-point range and 84.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Hayward was also looking worlds better defensively than he did last season, as he clearly gained some mobility (and confidence) back and was showing the ability to guard multiple positions.

It's also very obvious that Boston's offense is much more versatile when he is on the floor, as Hayward can lead the fast break, run the offense and also represent the primary scoring option if need be.

The C's need Hayward, so locking him up on a long-term contract that would also save the Celtics some money next season would be an ideal scenario. Whether or not Hayward would be open to it is another story.

1. Extend Jayson Tatum

The Celtics extended Jaylen Brown this past October. Now, it's Jayson Tatum's turn.

To say that Tatum broke out this season would be an understatement, as the third-year forward was registering 23.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game ahead of the hiatus.

He looked inhuman at times, especially in February and March.

Tatum is on the verge of superstardom, and Boston must make sure it locks him down on a long-term extension now before he can test the market as a restricted free agent next summer.

There is very little reason to believe this won't happen.

After all, the Celtics have always (and rightly) valued Tatum above Brown, and Boston just gave Brown $115 million. Danny Ainge has already said that he has no problem paying Tatum big money, and Tatum seems to love playing for the C's.

But the Celtics need to be very careful not to screw this up.

Tatum is set to be eligible for a contract extension this offseason, so Ainge and Co. need to get to work on safeguarding Tatum's future in Beantown as soon as possible.

It's pretty clear that Tatum has become the No. 1 guy on this team, and at just 22 years old, he is just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential.