https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ ... e-warriors
Boston Celtics 2022 Offseason PreviewIt wasn't always pretty. Not that they need my permission, but Celtic fans and NBA enthusiasts are within their right to be disappointed in Tatum's output during the Finals.
All I ask is that we don't lose the plot.
Tatum didn't struggle on his own; remember, before Draymond Green missed a chunk of games during the regular season, it was the Warriors who held the NBA's best defensive rating. They pinpointed what Tatum's weaknesses were and poked at him. And this is on top of what Tatum was asked to do defensively — often navigating the Green assignment so he could switch onto Stephen Curry when necessary, or dealing with drives from Wiggins on the ball.
Beyond that, look at the growth Tatum has made as a scorer and playmaker over the past year-and-a-half. Heck, look at the growth he made this postseason. Defenses keyed in on him, threw different schemes at him within the same quarter, and he was mostly able to figure it out.
This is a sour end to the season, but it's a season in which Tatum was an All-Star once again, earned All-NBA First Team honors, finished sixth in MVP voting and led his team to the NBA Finals for the first time.
This was a darn good year, and now Tatum has to stew in this Finals loss for a bit. His history already suggests he'll get better heading into next season; with this frustrating finish, I'd bet the house on Tatum making a substantial leap over the summer.
https://www.dangerc.art/post/boston-cel ... on-preview
The Celtics season ended in disappointment but not before re-establishing them as a top-tier title contender. The team should enter this offseason with their expectation for next year being no worse than a 2-seed and a return to the Conference Finals and with their goal being 60 wins, the 1-seed, and the championship. When a team reaches that level their operating procedures change.
To the credit of the front office they recognized this as a possibility at the last trade deadline, when it was not yet clearly the case, and paid full price to trade for Derrick White. That's the type of move a team in this position should be making. The time for half-measures, cost control, and talk of down the road timelines is over.
Ownership must be willing to spend $20M over the luxury tax. With current projections, a team $20M over the tax would have a total outlay in salary and tax of $214M. For reference, the Warriors' total outlay this year was approximately $350M. No one should expect the team to spend what the Warriors or Clippers can but it's time to smash the piggy banks open.
Otherwise, this is a relatively simple offseason. No first round draft pick, no high profile free agents, no cap space to spend...
