The Boston Celtics made a second consecutive trip the postseason, this time coming off a winning season with a 48-34 record. Brad Stevens got maximum production from a roster most considered to be stocked with role players. While the role player descriptor might still fit a lot of the roster, several players did step up. Isaiah Thomas made the All-Star team and Avery Bradley was named to the All-Defensive First Team as the leading vote getter amongst all guards and garnered the third most votes overall.

Stevens joined in by getting plenty of support for Coach of the Year. The recognition was well-deserved for a team that overachieved and has fast forwarded their rebuilding timeline. Thomas earned his All-Star status by playing in all 82 games (starting 79) and scoring over 22 PPG, while also recording 6 APG. Thomas was Boston’s unquestioned offensive leader, something that critics point to as a negative being that he’s a 5’9’’ scoring guard. The Celtics, however, look past his lack of size and emphasize his toughness and his ability to get to the free throw line (6.6 FTA per game). Boston has one of the best bargains in the league, as Thomas is signed for two more seasons at $6.5 million and $6.2 million.

Bradley, long known as an elite defender, stepped up his offensive game by averaging a career high 15.2 PPG. Bradley was often the player the Celtics would run the most sets for to get open shots and he responded by hitting 147 threes, another career high. By embracing that fact that he’s not a PG and letting Bradley play off the ball, the Celtics emphasize what he can do vs forcing him to be something he’s not. 

Joining Thomas and Bradley in having a breakout season was Jae Crowder. Crowder continued the growth he showed after being acquired in the Rajon Rondo trade. Given a starting role from opening night, Crowder responded with career highs across the board and played the best defense of his career. Crowder also joins Thomas and Bradley as players that Boston has locked up long term on under market contracts. 

The picture up front wasn’t quite as rosy as it was on the wing. Stevens cobbled together a big man rotation that often featured no true center and little in the way of rim protection. Amir Johnson provided another solid season and proved to be the best big on the roster in the postseason. Stevens managed his minutes all year long to have him fresh when it mattered most. Johnson is signed to a team friendly contract for $12 million dollars that also happens to be fully non-guaranteed. This makes him a tradeable asset or a player the Celtics could keep, ideally in a lesser role. 

After getting almost nothing from David Lee, who was released after the deadline, the frontcourt mostly featured Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko. Sullinger was largely the best of this bunch. He averaged 10 PPG and 8 RPG and played solid positional defense. He’s the type of player who always leaves you wanting more though. He tends to fall in love with the jumper and his lack of conditioning regularly has him off the floor for extended stretches. The Celtics have to decide if he’s a part of the picture moving forward or not, as he’s likely to have plenty of suitors this summer. 

Olynyk continues to tease with rare skills for a 7’0’’ player. He can handle the ball, pass like a guard and also hit for over 40% from three. He’s eligible for a contract extension this summer, and Boston needs to sign him now or risk a big offer sheet next summer.

Jerebko gave the Celtics, Olynyk-like production at both the PF and SF positions. In the playoffs, he was the Celtics second best big man behind Amir Johnson and gave the team good inside-outside play. Like Johnson, he’s also signed to a team friendly deal at just $5 million and is also fully non-guaranteed. Boston will look to use him in trade or will be happy to have him back as an affordable bench piece.

Tyler Zeller is another big man on the roster who is scheduled to be a restricted free agent. As the only true center on the roster and coming off a productive first year in Boston, the hope was Zeller would be a big part of the roster. Unfortunately, he never got as comfortable as the prior year and was in and out of the rotation all year long. The Celtics would like to have Zeller back as a reserve center, but won’t extend very far to do so this summer. 

The Celtics' other free agent, Evan Turner, is a source of constant debate. He’s at his best with the ball in his hands, functioning as the de facto PG when he’s on the floor. He’s not great off the ball due to his lack of shooting and inability to finish at the rim off passes. All that said, Turner often took over and won Boston games and at times looked like the player the 76ers thought they were getting when they drafted him # 2 overall. After two seasons in Boston on the cheap, Turner could garner a contract larger than what the Celtics would match. They’d like a return for Turner as a bench wing and ball handler, but the terms will have to be right.

Complicating matters for the Boston FAs is the team’s overall roster depth and stock of young players. Marcus Smart is at the front of this group despite two up and down seasons, especially offensively. All too often his jumper will go missing for long stretches and he hasn’t shown the ability to get the basket consistently during those periods. Defensively he’s shown everything you could want from a wing defender. He’ll continue to get minutes either as a starter or the first guard off the bench, as Boston hopes his offense eventually catches up to his defense.

Last year’s draft picks, Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter and Jordan Mickey, all had flashes during the season. Rozier in particular showed his ability to be a scrappy, defense-first, energy guy off the bench at PG, especially during several good stretches in the playoffs. Boston hoped Hunter would show more as a shooter, but his lack of ability to do anything else kept him confined to the bench most of the year. Mickey was terrific in the D-League and had Celtics fans clamoring for him to play more. His presence is part of what makes Johnson, Sullinger, and Zeller somewhat expendable, as Boston has high hopes for him moving forward. James Young, who was in the same draft class as Smart, has been excellent in the D-League, but that hasn’t translated in the NBA. He often looks lost on both ends and his roster spot is probably the most tenuous of all the young players.

The Celtics would love to add a star player this summer and they have the resources to do so. With three first round picks in this draft, swap rights with Brooklyn next year, and the Nets pick outright in 2018, along with all the young talent, the Celtics can put together proposals for just about anyone on the trade market. While the Lottery wasn’t kind to Boston, keeping their Nets pick in the third position in a draft largely described as a “two player draft”, that pick remains an asset for either Boston or in trade. In addition, Boston owns five second round picks this year and other future picks in addition to the Brooklyn picks. The Celtics certainly have the capital to move up the draft board, if they can get a team to bite.

In free agency, Boston has plenty of space to make a big signing, and can fairly easily get to enough to make a second big signing. They will pursue Kevin Durant, though Al Horford is a great secondary, more realistic option. Getting either of those two players seems is unlikely, but it should give you an idea of Boston’s spending power this offseason. A more likely outcome is that Boston signs or trades for players in the next tier and continues to add to their overall roster depth. 

Danny Ainge has said he wants to emulate the Houston model of building a large asset base and having the most chips available to offer when a star player becomes available as Daryl Morey did with James Harden. He’s accomplished the first part. Whether or not the second part comes to fruition and delivers the “fireworks” ownership once promised remains to be seen. Having a lot of assets is great on paper, but what really matters is how you use them. This offseason the Celtics have more to work with than just about anyone and it is up to Ainge to take them from a nice team on the way up to and back to contending for banner 18.

Offseason Details

Guaranteed Contracts (9): Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, R.J. Hunter, Jordan Mickey, Kelly Olynyk, Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas, James Young

Partial/Non-Guaranteed Contracts (3): John Holland, Jonas Jerebko, Amir Johnson

Potential Free Agents (3): Jared Sullinger (RFA), Evan Turner (UFA), Tyler Zeller (RFA)

“Dead” Money on Cap (0): None

First Round Draft Picks: # 3, # 16, # 23

Maximum Cap Space: $56,397,958

Projected Cap Space: $14,532,085