If an NBA season was a theme park, the Boston Celtics’ 2025-26 would be its roller coaster. As they entered the season, some pundits – myself included – wondered aloud if it’d be better to tank in hopes of securing a high draft pick for next season, when presumably Jayson Tatum would be back from an Achilles tear. (We’ll get back to Tatum shortly.
)Instead, the celtics flourished under Jaylen Brown, remaining thoroughly in the playoff picture and looking like a team no one in the East wanted to play they traded a chunk of their team at the trade deadline to get under the luxury tax limit, which seemingly went against their success Jayson Tatum missing Game 7 was a crucial blow to the Celtics.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)On the heels of, well, getting worse in order to save money, Tatum was surprisingly ready to return ahead of schedule It seemed Boston perhaps found a way to both save money and get better Well, uh, about that …The second-seeded Celtics then lost in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers, a team they’ve been so used to taking behind the wood shed.
Boston is now left looking for answers for next season. (Yes, Celtics fans. You can exhale now.
Lord knows we all need to. )What’s next? Let’s get into it.2025-26 finishRecord: 56-26, second in the Eastern Conference.
Eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers in seven of the seasonJaylen Brown won’t like this, given how much he did for the Celtics all year, but the highlight is the return of Tatum, and it’s not even remotely close No one knew what type of condition he’d be in Whether he’d have physical issues or a slow ramp-up.
But he came in, and immediately proved to be very much the same player. That’s huge. In 16 regular-season games, Tatum averaged 21.8 points, 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Sure, it was disappointing he missed game 7 with knee stiffness, but in his six playoff games he posted 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He’s going to be just fine next signed for next seasonJayson TatumJaylen BrownDerrick WhiteSam HauserPayton PritchardHugo GonzalezLuka GarzaBaylor ScheiermanKey free agentsNikola Vučević (UFA)Neemias Queta (team option)Projected salary$172,968,312Draft picksNos. 27 & 40Draft focus: While the draft is never a place to think need, the Celtics must at least consider using their selections on a big man.
They’re short up front and don’t have a lot of depth, so frontcourt size should be a priority. Roster-building toolsThey should have the Tax-MLE handy, pending no major moves. Vučević hasn’t been taken care of yet, and picking up team options on up to six young players will increase the cap hit.
The Celtics will need to step carefully and goalsThe goal is a title, and that remains in play. Boston needs help up front and could stand to find more point guard depth. Given how much money they have on the cap, it’s difficult to see them make a big play for someone, however, unless they’re willing to attach draft equity. But that could be in play considering how poorly this season ended.
