The Boston Celtics entered the 2025 offseason at a bit of a crossroads. Roster moves were going to be made regardless of the outcome of their postseason run, as the team is facing record luxury tax penalties, and Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury has further complicated things.
Now, it appears as though the rest of the contenders in the Eastern Conference see an opportunity to take advantage of the defending champions while they're down. Sunday afternoon, one of Boston's Eastern Conference rivals took a big swing at knocking off the Celtics by agreeing to a blockbuster trade to add some offensive firepower to their roster by unloading a great deal of draft capital.
Orlando Magic Already Taking Advantage of Jayson Tatum's Injury
Boston faced off against the Orlando Magic in their opening-round playoff series. While the Celtics ultimately prevailed, there was plenty of chippiness throughout the matchup. There is no doubt that the Magic have a promising young core of players to build around in Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Wendell Carter Jr.
On Sunday, Orlando agreed to send veteran guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, and four unprotected future first-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Desmond Bane. To say the Magic are going for it this season is an understatement, as they have, essentially, traded away the bulk of their draft capital for the rest of this decade to acquire a player who is more than capable of putting the ball in the bucket, but has never been an All-Star.
This is a risky proposition for Orlando, no matter how you swing it. From a pure basketball fit, Bane should work well alongside the pieces already in place in Central Florida. Will it be enough for the Magic to make a deeper postseason run this coming season? That remains to be seen.
Celtics fans have seen trades where organizations give up multiple unprotected future draft picks, and it blows up in their faces. That is part of the reason why Boston has enjoyed so much success in recent years, as they were the beneficiaries of the Brooklyn Nets making a similar decision when they attempted to win with an aging Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce as their centerpieces. That deal led to Boston drafting Tatum as well as Jaylen Brown, while the Nets failed to come close to contending for a championship.
We'll have to wait and see just what the rest of the Eastern Conference tries to do to close the gap between themselves and Boston, but Celtics fans should prepare for more moves like the one we saw this weekend.