Horford, Richardson, and even Rob Williams can be good ball-movers. The temptation will be to rely heavily on Tatum and Brown isolation plays and Marcus launching from long distance because there aren’t a lot of natural scorers on the team. Ime Udoka is really going to have to stress ball movement if he wants to improve upon Brad’s 27th ranked assist numbers. What concerns me a bit is the offensive side of the ball. Robert Williams is known for his athleticism and is a year older and wiser. Al Horford has lost a step or two since we last saw him but his value was never in his athleticism. Smart and Richardson should slow down the flow of traffic into the paint better than Kemba and Fournier did last season. I fully expect this team to be better defensively. They will need support from the rest of the cast, but the only way this team becomes a title favorite is if the Jays force their way into the All NBA conversation. Not to mention anyone they think would be a good fit as another 2-way roster spot.Īs always, the team will be as good as Tatum and Brown take them. We’ll see if the team brings over Yam Madar or even 2nd round pick Juhann Begarin. Undrafted rookie sharpshooter Sam Hauser appears to be coming to town on a two way deal. Newcomer Bruno Fernando is here for now a well. I’m not sure if it is going to work out for Carsen Edwards here in Boston, but he’s still around on his rookie deal. Jabari Parker seems like a perfectly fine, low cost guy that the team can count on for stretches of offensive production. This is still going to be in flux right up through training camp, so take with the appropriate grain of salt. Youth: Robert Williams, Pritchard, Nesmith, Langford, Grant Williamsīeyond that you get into the deep bench which (in a normal year) shouldn’t matter as much as it did last season but still needs to be built out just in case.

Vets: Smart, Horford, Richardson, Dunn, Kanter So I’ll pause right here and list out what I see as the Celtics top 12: And even he could be utilized in a different role by new head coach Ime Udoka. Marcus Smart might be the only guy on the team that kind of is what he is. Romeo Langford needs to stay healthy and Grant Williams needs to be more consistent, but both have a baseline level of talent worth investing in. Aaron Nesmith has shown promise as the kind of 3-and-D player that every team needs. Payton Pritchard has already proven his worth in a rotation. Robert Williams might have the highest upside. Then there’s a number of younger players that have shown various degrees of promise. We’ve seen both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown add to their games each season and there’s no reason to believe they’ll level off. The team will miss Evan’s shooting and Kemba’s occasional offensive outbursts but they will likely benefit from better defensive performances from Richardson, Horford, and Dunn.Īside from those moves, this team is going to really rely upon internal growth.

Given Kemba’s questionable health, these moves might be about break even on the court.

Incoming: Josh Richardson, Al Horford, Kris Dunn, and Enes Kanter, Bruno Fernando Outgoing: Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, Tristan Thompson, and Semi Ojeleye Let’s start with the moves that have been made thus far. For the purposes of this drill, I’m going to largely ignore the salaries and focus on the upcoming season only. Pulling out a pad of paper writing out the roster, and making wild guesses about how the team will fit together once they actually take the court together. Seems like a good time for one of my favorite offseason traditions. Note : The Tristan Thompson trade hasn’t been made official yet so some of this could become dated quickly, but I’m making the assumption that the rumored deal goes through without significant changes.

Current celtics roster