It's been quite the offseason for the Boston Celtics, who traded Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, among other moves, in an attempt to get under the dreaded second apron. It all comes as the Celtics prepare for a year in which Jayson Tatum will be sidelined due to the Achilles injury he suffered vs the New York Knicks in last season's playoffs.
While the Celtics still have two elite wings in Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, recently, team legend Bob Cousy questioned whether that would be enough to make Boston truly competitive without Tatum in the lineup.
“In my judgment, Jaylen is not quite at the superstar level that Tatum is at,” Cousy said, per the Boston Globe, via Hoopshype. ”Can he carry the load by himself? I see a major rebuilding effort here. Jaylen certainly won’t bring them to the promised land…(Derrick) White’s a good player and he’ll produce and he’ll be consistent, but his game doesn’t lend itself to carrying a team.”
Cousy also spoke on what figures to be a turbulent time for the Celtics' new ownership group.
This poor new owner [Bill Chisholm] must be shell-shocked. The minute he signed on the dotted line, the poop started to hit the fan. Everything that could go wrong for that franchise pretty much did. I hope he’s not having buyer’s remorse. I think he’s snakebit,” said Cousy.
Dark times for the Celtics
Just a year ago, fans everywhere were proclaiming the Celtics as the NBA's next potential dynasty on the heels of their 2024 championship.
However, in the year since, Boston has become a case study in just how quickly fortunes can change in the modern NBA.
It should be noted that the Celtics were likely on their way to losing the series vs the Knicks even before Tatum got injured, which would have led to a turbulent offseason regardless in the wake of a shocking second round exit and salary cap concerns.
However, now, the Celtics' main goal will likely be positioning themselves to be able to hit the ground running once Tatum returns in 2026-27.
