If the Boston Celtics can’t win the Finals, or at the very least the Eastern Conference, they might have to have some tough talks about future moves.
Despite boasting the third-best record in the NBA so far this season, the Boston Celtics are largely expected to repeat as champions this season. They have an elite starting five in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Prozingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White, and they boast a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year in Payton Pritchard.
However, on Wednesday night, they lost by 20 points to the red-hot Detroit Pistons. This year, losing by that much to a lower seeded team is incredibly embarrassing, and with the Pistons’ recent history, some people close to the Celtics’ organization are close to hitting the panic button.
If Boston falls short of their lofty goal this season, one key factor might result in them blowing up their core, says Kendrick Perkins, who won a title with the Celtics in 2008.
Boston could be in the last year of this era
While losing one game to the Pistons doesn’t spell doom for Boston’s season, they do look a lot more human than they did last year, when they cruised through the playoffs, winning every series in either four or five games.
If Boston loses early in the playoffs to the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, MIlwaukee Bucks, or even a Play-In Tournament team, ownership might not have the patience (or pocketbooks) to run it back.
“You better keep an eye on the Boston Celtics,” said Kendrick Perkins on the Road Trippin’ podcast. “I think the Boston Celtics are going to repeat, I do. I strongly believe that.
“But what I’m saying is, if they don’t repeat, I believe they’re going to break it up. They have no choice. Their starting five is damn near getting a billion dollars.
“You see their owners? The Boston Celtics are on the market. You can’t have two guys making $300-plus million. If the Celtics don’t win it, I think they’re going to shop Jaylen Brown.”
Brown is on a massive $304 million contract that keeps him under team control through 2028-29. While it’s hard to deny that he’s worth it, someone has to write those checks.
“It’s not from a talent thing, it’s a money standpoint,” Perkins finished, admitting that keeping the core intact would be the smart thing to do.
Boston could make a massive trade
If the Celtics have to pick between Brown and Tatum, it’s clear that Brown would be the one to head out. Due to his massive salary, he doesn’t allow most teams to add him and remain under the salary cap, although up-and-coming franchises like the Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic, and Pistons could make a deal work if the Celtics were willing to take on some of their veterans.
Boston clearly wouldn’t be looking to rebuild, so any trade partner would have to be willing to give up a win-now piece (or several), as well as draft capital simply because Brown is one of the best players in the league and Boston would chase the best return possible.
If any of those teams added Brown next to their young stars (or, in Utah’s case, Lauri Markkanen), they would immediately become playoff, if not Finals, frontrunners.
At only 28 years old and averaging 22.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, Brown is coming off his fourth All-Star nod and could take over as the face of the franchise after playing second fiddle in Boston all these years.
