NBA is 'bracing' for Celtics to make key offseason decisions

The current iteration of the Boston Celtics could be considered one of the strongest teams in recent NBA memory. However, coming off their first championship since 2008, Boston could be forced to make some changes.

The roster is headlined by superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and perfectly filled out by some of the best role players in the NBA, which, in all honesty, doesn't feel like an appropriate term for players such as Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Sixth Man of the Year winner Payton Pritchard.

Unfortunately for the Celtics and the architect of the reigning champs, Brad Stevens, the current roster is unsustainable, no matter how much winning they accomplish. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the NBA is bracing for what moves could come next.

"Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason. This iteration just is not going to be sustainable for this team... Because when you think about the new collective bargaining agreement, there's restrictions that come with trades. There's restrictions that come with freezing of draft picks. That's all stuff that they're dealing with right now."

Many teams around the NBA are dealing with the repercussions of the new CBA, but none are being hit harder than the Celtics. Some fans may wonder if it's fair that a team should be punished for constructing such a great roster of players, but perhaps that was the goal of the new agreement: to ensure some level of parity across the league. 

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Charania indicated that Boston knew this was coming and had the Summer of 2025 circled as the point of no return for this current team.

"They have five players right now scheduled to make $28 million or more next season. That's a league record. They would have a salary bill of $500 million. That would be league history amount. And I think the Celtics knew when they traded for Jrue Holiday and they traded for Kristaps Porzingis they'd be staring at this in the face this summer."

Now, Brad Stevens will have to do it all over again in terms of constructing a championship roster, but I don't think anyone around the league believes he won't be able to pull it off again.

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