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The Boston Celtics are still recovering from their crushing Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Miami Heat, but they are going to have to do so on the fly now, because the NBA offseason is officially underway. With the 2023 NBA Draft just a week away, and free agency kicking off on June 30th, the Celtics are going to have to get the ball rolling when it comes to finding ways to improve their roster.
While the C's have an extremely talented collection of players on paper, things didn't pan out for them in the postseason. They played with their food against the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers, and while they nearly pulled off a historic 3-0 rally against the Heat, they ran out of gas. You can point out that four of the C's key rotation players were dealing with some sort of ailment in Game 7, but it realistically should not have gotten to that point.
Changes will be made to this roster over the offseason. They may not be as big as some fans would hope, but the front office will likely be looking to balance out their rotation by clearing out their backcourt logjam and picking up a two-way wing who can slip right into the team's rotation. One thing is clear, though; acquiring another big name star is the last thing this team needs to do, which is why they must avoid Bradley Beal.
Why Celtics cannot make a move for Bradley Beal
The C's have continually been linked to a potential move for Beal for years now. With the Wizards star guard turning himself into one of the premier scorers in the league, the fit seemed natural. Beal was the dominant point guard the Celtics needed, and his longtime friendship with Jayson Tatum would immediately give this team a nice boost of chemistry.
Cries for a Beal trade reached an all-time high during the 2020-21 season, when Beal averaged 31.3 points per game for the Wizards while playing alongside Russell Westbrook. Once Westbrook left, though, Beal took on more of a facilitator role, and saw his scoring drop to 23.2 points per game in both of the past two seasons. That's nothing to scoff at, but it's not exactly a great sign.
There are a lot of reasons to not make a move for Beal, so let's break them down one-by-one. For starters, Beal just signed a massive five-year, $251 million deal with Washington last season, meaning whichever team that trades for him is going to have to take on a lot of that money. Given the pending extensions for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, that's not something this team should reasonably do.
Beyond that, there are valid concerns about Beal's actual play on the court. His scoring has come back down to earth over the past two seasons, and while he can average about six assists per game, his playmaking isn't strong enough to be what Boston needs from him. On the other end of the floor, Beal's defense has been mediocre at best for his entire career, and as we saw in the playoffs, the C's need a defensive boost this offseason.
The Celtics have the assets to make such a move, but there's really no reason for them to do so. Beal doesn't really fill any gaping needs, has a massive deal, and could technically be regressing already at 30 years old. He may be friends with Tatum, and is a flashy big name star, but it's tough to see how acquiring him makes this team better.
Boston has three options entering this offseason, and only one of them is plausible. They could trade Brown, fire head coach Joe Mazzulla, or make improvements around the edges for the second straight offseason. The third option is already happening, as Mazzulla's coaching staff, which now features Charles Lee and Sam Cassell, is already much improved from last year. Similar moves need to be made to address the roster.
Clearing up the guard logjam by trading Payton Pritchard and one of Marcus Smart or Malcolm Brogdon are logical first steps. Re-signing Grant Williams and finding another wing player to come off the bench is the next step. At no point along the way, though, does making a move for Beal make any sort of sense.
There will be a handful of teams enamored by the potential of Beal, but the C's should not be one of them. Making moves for star players does not lead to championship victories; just look at the team that won the 2023 NBA Finals in the Denver Nuggets. Depth wins titles in the NBA right now, and the C's should absolutely not sacrifice their existing depth in an effort to land Beal from the Wizards.
