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On Friday, the Boston Celtics' season came to an end with a blowout loss at the hands of the New York Knicks in Game 6 of their second round series. While Jayson Tatum's injury in Game 4 may have stuck the dagger in the Celtics' season, Boston truly lost this series by choking away not one but two 20-point leads in the first two games at home.
Now the Celtics are faced with an offseason filled with more questions than answers, particularly as the new ownership is expected to take cost-cutting measures to cheapen the roster.
Recently, NBA insider Marc Stein reported about which of Boston's starting backcourt players is more likely to be on the trade block this summer.
“…the early projections in circulation suggest Boston is more apt to make Jrue Holiday available via trade this offseason than Derrick White,” reported Stein on his Substack.
Stein also reported that “most rival teams continue to regard Kristaps Porziņģis as the most movable Boston vet thanks to the Latvian big man's $30.7 million expiring contract.”
A big decision for the Celtics
At this point, it's unclear how much the Celtics could get for either Porzingis or Holiday after their respective showings in the 2025 postseason. Porzingis, who has been battling an illness for months now, was borderline unplayable in the series against the Knicks, forcing Joe Mazzulla to bench him for the second half of Game 5.
Meanwhile, Holiday was not able to step up at all in the wake of Tatum's injury, looking every bit of his age at times in the series vs the Knicks.
Overall, it's unclear what the Celtics' strategy will be with Tatum likely to miss at least a good chunk of next season with his torn Achilles. It's unlikely that the Celtics will opt to punt completely on next year, particularly with the East so far behind the West in terms of overall talent.
However, the new ownership group could prioritize getting under the second apron above all else this offseason, which would mean cutting ties with multiple members of the 2024 championship squad.
