The Boston Celtics might actually be pretty good. Seriously.
I know a lot of people are still upset about the Jaylen Brown trade, the failed Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit, and the fact that they didn't make a big improvement at center (these are all fair, to be honest), but the Celtics are still going to be a good team next season.
Are they championship contenders? Probably not. They weren't real contenders even before the offseason began, and nothing they did changed that. But they were just the No. 2 seed in the East, and they still have an intriguing roster.
Celtics will bank on natural progression
The Celtics have a lot of players who should be in line for bigger roles next season. Payton Pritchard might become a full-time starter and have a higher usage rate, guys like Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and Ron Harper Jr. should be higher on the depth chart now, and, to an extent, Jayson Tatum might be in line for the biggest role of his career to this point.
Boston's roster isn't good enough to win a title as is, but there is still a lot of talent and potential on the team, and they will aim to keep the development going and hope certain players can turn into championship-level contributors moving forward.
The Celtics have a good track record of getting the most out of their players, especially in recent years (for example: Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and Josh Minott, briefly, all had career years with the team last season). And given their offseason activity so far, it's safe to assume they're going to make this a major focus once again.
The Celtics made some solid additions
Even though the story of their offseason has been their decision to trade Brown, Boston still made some interesting additions.
The way they got him might not have been ideal, but Paul George can still play, and he should be a great sidekick to Tatum (whenever he plays). Plus, Mitchell Robinson drastically improves the Celtics' rebounding and physicality at center, Mike Conley gives the team a much-needed veteran leader, and rookies Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell are both looking solid in summer league.
Boston addressed a lot of areas of need this offseason, and the team is pretty good on paper. Even if it might not seem like it on the surface, there are reasons to be excited about the Celtics' outlook for the short- and long-term, and fans should have a lot to keep an eye on moving forward.
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