The Celtics begin a seven-game homestand on Friday night against their top East arrival in the Cavaliers. Let’s take a a few intriguing parts of the current roster and what lies ahead for the future in this week’s mailbag. If you have any questions for a future mailbag, email brobb@masslive.com.
Will Brad Stevens be disappointed with the back half of the Celtics bench? None of the young developmental guys – Walsh, Peterson, Scheierman, Davison – have forced their way into the rotation. Can you prioritize them today in terms of their future possible NBA development? — Matt
There has not been a lot to be disappointed about in the last two years with these Celtics but it’s fair to be a bit underwhelmed with what this group has done in the past two years. Walsh has had a few moments this year but has not made any meaningful offensive inroads in 40 appearances this season.
Scheierman was drafted for his offense but he really hasn’t been able to contribute anything there on an NBA-level this year. Peterson is the guy on this list who has probably contributed most to winning in the early season when Boston down bodies but we haven’t seen much of him lately beyond Maine. Davison’s once rotation chance against the Raptors didn’t inspire confidence that he should be a candidate for the 15-man roster next year.
Ultimately, a lot of these guys are dealt a tough hand when it comes to developing for a championship team. There simply isn’t going to be a lot of chances on a team that’s this deep and they aren’t going to get a lot of rope to play through mistakes when they do get a chance.
However, as Boston’s roster gets pricier in the coming years and loses talent due to age/expense, the bottom of the roster is going to matter more. Ultimately, these guys are going to have to show more progress at the NBA level or else they might not be around beyond next season.
Hi Brian, do you think Boston’s sale will impact the championship window or vice versa? Luxury tax is quite daunting these days, may act as a deterrent? — Guitthesloth
It’s certainly going to be the biggest factor in determining how deep this team will be during their championship window. Given that the current projected payroll for next season is expected to cost about $500 million in salary and luxury tax penalties (and that doesn’t include trying to re-sign Al Horford), it’s seemingly a matter of when, not if changes are made to this team’s core to reduce the financial burden.
The good news for the Celtics is that all of their talent is on long term deals and pretty much all of them have aged well, beyond Jrue Holiday. The Celtics will not need to give up any assets to dump salary and in fact could get some useful pieces back amid their eventual cost cutting, depending on who exactly they are trying to move.
With that said, I don’t think we are going to be see this entire group back next season if I was a betting man, making the window for the present all the more important. Boston will remain a contender even if they lose a piece or two under new ownership but how much the Celtics want to remain at that top-tier of contending will largely be dependent on ownership’s appetite to spend big.
The few playoff games where BOS was healthy, Mazzula used an 8 man rotation. With the improvements of Kornet, do you think his playoff rotation is 9 deep this year? (Pritchard, Hauser, Kornet, Horford) — Joelvideo
I think Kornet’s earned that at this point against most matchups. His has the best net rating (+14.7) on the roster among rotation players and his effectiveness has remained consistent whether as the sole big with the starters or in a double big alignment next to Al Horford or Kristaps Porzingis.
Kornet’s screen setting and offensive rebounding have produced terrific offense all year long and his rim protection is as good as ever. Given the wear and tear of a playoff grind, taking the onus of Horford/Porzingis will be pivotal to get this team back to the Finals. Kornet seems equipped to help do that this year.
Who would Brad have offered for Luka? I would guess: never Tatum. But….. — Alex
What a fascinating proposition. Tatum certainly would not be on the table. Beyond that? Jaylen Brown and other stuff would be the next obvious consideration but making a monster move like that midseason on a defending champion does not feel like something Brad Stevens would go for. How well would Doncic and Tatum fit together? Would Doncic create a vulnerability for the Celtics defense that they haven’t had for the past two years.
The counter to that naturally is having Doncic as a co-No. 1 option offensively for years to come would be worth that tradeoff. It’s a no brainer deal to make for about 27 NBA teams but the Celtics are one where you at least give it some pause due to the massive upheaval it would cause for a team that’s already the favorite to repeat.
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