The Boston Celtics were once again knocked out of the playoffs way too early, especially considering how many talented players Brad Stevens had fully healthy in his roster throughout most of the year.
The team peaked at the start of the playoffs and on 5 straight games before being completely torn apart by Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, and it looks like they have a lot of work coming into the summer.
Danny Ainge needs to find a way to stop this team from falling apart in the summer, as they just can’t afford to go back to scratch after putting together one of the strongest teams in the NBA over the last couple of seasons.
Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier are bound to leave, and while Al Horford is very likely to come back for an extra season, this team could still be a complete disaster. How to fix it and avoid further damage? Let’s break it down.
4. Don’t Trade For Anthony Davis
Danny Ainge convinced the New Orleans Pelicans to wait until the summer to make a deal for Anthony Davis and even claimed that no player was off the table, not even Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum.
However, Davis wants to join the Los Angeles Lakers and with Kyrie Irving walking out of the team, it’s just not worth it to give up on the future of the team over a one-year rental on such an injury-prone player, talented as he may be.
3. Use Young Lineup
Luckily for the Celtics, they still have an incredibly talented young core. They still have Smart, Brown, Tatum, and even Robert Williams. Also, they own their 1st round pick and are entitled of a top-8 protected pick from the Memphis Grizzlies.
They need to trust their young players and just give them as many minutes as they can handle, especially considering they don’t have enough cap space to make any big-name signings, at least for the time being.
2. Try To Trade Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward is a great player and he was finally coming together towards the end of the season with the Boston Celtics, but let’s face it, he’s not a great fit next to their young prospects and he’ll never be.
Hayward needs way more touches to get it going and his trade value may never be as high as it is right now, so they should try and find a good deal for him and move him as soon as possible to gather assets and let the youngsters run the team.
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1. Run The Offense Through Jayson Tatum
And finally, Jayson Tatum needs to step up and embrace his role as the leader of this team. Tatum is incredibly talented and quite young, but Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are just holding him back.
Tatum has all the tools to become the league’s next superstar and the Celtics just need to run their offense through him and give him as many shots as they can. They just can’t afford to let his talent go to waste.
