.jpg)
5 hours ago
1
Can the Boston Celtics return to the top of the mountain next season?
An early playoff exit against a longtime rival, losing Jayson Tatum for an entire season, and needing to push out some salary are all hot topics on the mind of Celtics fans, general manager, and incoming owner, Bill Chisholm.
With perennial All-NBA star, Jayson Tatum likely to miss all of 2025 after tearing his Achilles in the Celtics' Game 4 loss against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, it appears as if the reigning champions won't be competing for their second title in three seasons in 2025-2026.
Tatum's absence paired with Al Horford potentially ready to retire as well as aging or injured former stars in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis taking up a massive portion of the club's salary, next season, it's likely the Celtics' roster will be undergoing a massive makeover ahead of next season.
With new owner, Bill Chisholm set to foot a $500 million bill in his first full season as owner, it's not likely he'll be willing to pay that, which means a major amount of salary will be needing to exit the TD Garden's doors to get the club under the second apron.
Holiday ($32.4 million due next season), and Porzingis ($30.7 million due next season) are poised to be the most likely candidates to be on the outs in Beantown, general manager, Brad Stevens could opt to move a more valuable asset in reigning NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, Jaylen Brown, who's set to make $53.1 million in 2025-2026.
In a proposal from Bleacher Report's Rob Perez, the Celtics swing for the fences and pair Brown's massive salary with the 28th pick in this summer's NBA Draft and ship it to the New Orleans Pelicans for 2019 first-overall pick, Zion Williamson.
Boston Celtics Receive: Zion Willamson, Jordan Hawkins
New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Jaylen Brown, 2025 First-Round Pick (#28 overall)
In the proposed deal, the Celtics would shed nearly $20 million in salary and if Williamson can return to his 2024-2025 health, there's a chance they'd even be getting a more valuable asset in the former Duke star...adding former UConn star, Jordan Hawkins as a depth piece behind Derrick White and Payton Pritchard certainly doesn't hurt either.
Meanwhile for the Pelicans, they'd be parting ways with the oft-injured Williamson in hopes of changing the culture with Brown at the helm, who also provides some stability on defense alongside lockdown defender Herbert Jones, while also having the ability to score 25+ per night.
English (US)