Moving Forward: Making moves or standing pat another year?

The Biggest Offseason Questions for the Nuggets and Celtics
Both Denver and Boston had young squads that overdelivered this season with feel-good playoff runs. Which one is better positioned to take the next step and reach the Finals in 2021? A pivotal offseason awaits.
By Haley O'Shaughnessy

Boston Celtics

Record: 48-24 (third in Eastern Conference, beat Philadelphia 4-0, beat Toronto 4-3, lost to Miami 4-2)

2020 NBA draft picks: 14, 26, 30, 47

Pending free agents: Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter (player option); Brad Wanamaker (unrestricted); Tremont Waters and Tacko Fall (restricted); Semi Ojeleye (team option)
What Does Jayson Tatum Need to Thrive?

A new contract, for one. Tatum is eligible this offseason for a five-year maximum extension that would begin in 2021-22 worth approximately 28 percent of Boston’s salary cap. I don’t know how high or low or really low the cap—calculated by the previous season’s revenue—will be next year. ESPN’s Bobby Marks predicts that a new deal for Tatum could be worth $158 million. The numbers are less important than the general idea: The years that Danny Ainge spent calling other GMs late at night speaking only the words “asset” and “future first” until they were convinced a deal with Ainge was the best for all involved—reader, it was best for Boston—manifested into Tatum. The 22-year-old is the one they waited for and traded for, and the sooner he’s promised his prime to Brad Stevens, the better the city will sleep.

Has Tatum thought about his possible extension? “That’s a tough question to answer,” he told reporters on Sunday. “I haven’t even thought about that yet.” (Again, it could be nearly $160 million. I, too, would forget about the prospect of such a miniscule paycheck.) “I was just focused on this season. As you guys know, it’s a process. The front office and my agent are going to talk. I’m not thinking about that right now.” It hadn’t occurred to me that either side would hesitate until reading the hedging done by reporters; ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said Boston will “most likely” offer Tatum the max, while NBC Sports’ A. Sherrod Blakely said Tatum would be “leaning towards” OK’ing the deal. If the front office is seen as competent, as Boston’s is, and the coach is seen as capable, as Stevens is, and the money is right—meh, $158 million will suffice—there’s really no better pitch for a young player looking for his first big payday.


Unless Tatum is looking to leverage his extension to play with a stronger supporting cast in Boston. Targeting better frontcourt pieces is essential, but it’d be uncharacteristically impulsive for Ainge to make a dramatic change after making the Eastern Conference finals ahead of schedule. With the rate that Tatum and 23-year-old Jaylen Brown have improved, Boston should be able bear another year of incremental development and cohesion with Kemba Walker and Gordon Hayward. (Assuming Hayward exercises his player option for $34 million. Wilder things have happened in 2020.) Though after so many injuries with the Celtics, Hayward moves gingerly—sometimes, probably, because of a lingering ankle issue, and sometimes because of the mental confidence block that follows snapping your bone and cartilage—and the star forward they paid for has since been rendered just a role player.

Besides re-signing Tatum, Boston has to find a multidimensional big who can stretch into the center position. The roster never properly replaced Al Horford’s voice, but Boston did find success with a small-ball lineup late in the playoffs. Each current center option comes with distinct shortcomings, a positional vulnerability that should be addressed before the Celtics find themselves in a playoff series against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, Joel Embiid and the Sixers, or Bam Adebayo and the Heat once again. While we’re here: The prospect of facing a reloaded Raptors team or the Kevin Durant–Kyrie Irving Nets next season is enough for the Celtics to savor how far they came this go-round.