The Boston Celtics saw their season coming to another disappointing end in the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight year this time falling short in Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This has immediately pushed the front office toward what lies ahead in the offseason with eyes toward exceeding their finish from this past season. According to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, general manager Danny Ainge voiced during Monday's exit interviews that he doesn't plan to make any major changes to the roster.
Ainge: We’re not looking to make changes other than small tweaks here and there
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) May 28, 2018
The Celtics will be faced with a couple of decisions in free agency with the likes of Marcus Smart, Arron Baynes, and Greg Monroe all hitting the open market in some capacity. Among that group of players, Smart is in line to become a restricted free agent, which could possibly see him receive a lucrative offer from another team that could push the Celtics in a tough spot of deciding whether to match the deal.
These comments also further signal that the team is moving forward with both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward as their centerpieces next season and beyond that. There has already been discussion toward working out a new long-term extension with Irving, who will enter the fourth year of his five-year, $94.3 million deal. There is likely much internal belief that their current young core with the presence of their two other All-Stars in the lineup can contend for an NBA title next year and beyond that.
Things could certainly change if a star player becomes available on the open market over the offseason, but for the time being the Celtics look more than committed to their current promising roster. Aside from that, the Celtics look to have firmly established themselves as one of the top teams in the East for next several years to come.
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