A Cruel But Exciting Start to Summer

The Boston Celtics season ended earlier than anyone expected.

I didn’t want to write this post over the weekend.

Losing to the New York Knicks in the second round wasn’t on my list of projected outcomes for this season. I for sure thought we would still be talking about Celtics basketball deep into the Conference or NBA Finals.

That’s how this league goes, though. Injuries happen, and in the blink of an eye, the entire landscape of the postseason can shift. Worse still, the future of a franchise can be thrown into doubt.

Both of those things happened over the last week.

It’s hard to swallow, and tough to compartmentalize. After years of watching this team build through the draft, free agency and a sudden flurry of trades, it feels like they’re heading back to the drawing board.

Don’t get me wrong, you make those same moves 100 out of 100 times. We got to celebrate a championship last season. A fresh new banner hangs from the rafters whenever you walk into the TD Garden.

The painful part of this is that we imagined there would be a couple more in close succession.

The exciting part is that there still could be.

Things will just look a little different.

We don’t know what the future has in store. Perhaps Brad Stevens will give us some insight when he holds his news conference later today. I wouldn’t bet on it, though.

Still, it’s fair to assume that the current roster is set for a shake-up. Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Sam Hauser and Jaylen Brown — all of these names have been on the fanbase’s lips as potential tradable assets. And that’s before we factor in Al Horford’s impending free agency and possible retirement.

As the venerable

Marc Stein

reported on Sunday, Porzingis is the most likely of that quartet to be shown the door.

“Most rival teams continue to regard Kristaps Porziņģis as the most movable Boston vet thanks to the Latvian big man's $30.7 million expiring contract. Porziņģis, though, managed to exceed 20 minutes in only one of the Celtics' games in the New York series because of a perplexing energy-sapping illness that has plagued him since March.”

Sunday Best: All the latest NBA trade talk and Draft Combine chatter

Honestly, I’m expecting a swift round of changes. Porzingis is unlikely to be the only one shown the door. The roster is aging. Jaylen Brown reportedly suffered a partially torn meniscus. His recovery could seep into next season.

Therefore, Stevens will likely use the next 12-18 months to retool the rotation, ready for when Jayson Tatum and, potentially, Brown, are back to their best.

That’s another thing…Tatum is likely out for the next 12 months. However, it’s important to remember that once he’s cleared to return, he’s still got a long road ahead. Being given the go-ahead to play is not the same as being at your optimum level.

Tatum will need to ramp back up, and that could take months. I’m expecting this to be a two-year bounce-back, meaning we don’t see another NBA Finals push until 2027-28.

I hope I’m wrong and it’s just a one-year hiatus from contending.

Fortunately, we’ve got all summer to dissect potential trade packages, targets and rumors. There’s also enough time to start exploring potential draft options.

The NBA never sleeps, so there’s always room for more basketball talk, once we get our minds past the sudden ending of the season.

Now, a personal note…A heartfelt thank you.

I launched the Celtics Chronicle in 2024 with no expectations. I had not long taken over writing CelticsBlog’s 10 Takeaways, something that had been put on the map by the insanely talented

Keith Smith

. Throughout that season, I tried to straddle both the newsletter and CelticsBlog. That may sound easy, but covering the same team in two places, with a time difference no less, is tough.

So, I made the call to go all-in on this newsletter. Honestly, that was a big dice roll, but I’m a big believer in backing yourself and believing that you can make something work if you stay focused, committed and confident in what you’re doing.

I still have my other freelance outlets, too. Gotta keep those lights on!

This season has taught me a lot. I tried a bunch of different ideas, floated multiple formats for postgame articles, and slowly, but surely, the subscriber base grew. Again, I’m still miles away from where I hope to be, but every day is step in the right direction.

You all make that possible.

The fact that almost (and soon to be) 100 of you chose to pay for my work is mindblowing and incredibly humbling. I’m grateful for that fact and try to repay that faith as much as possible. In some ways, that led to me trying to write what I thought people wanted, rather than what I wanted to produce — and that’s a big lesson learned.

You do your best work when it’s something that interests you or an approach that you enjoy.

That said, I just wanted to thank you for rocking with me this season. It’s been a fantastic time, and one that has taught me countless lessons. Now, I’m excited for what’s to come during the summer and throughout the second full season of the Celtics Chronicle.

I hope you all stick around for the ride and that this community keeps on growing!

We will spend this week recapping the season before turning our attention toward what lies ahead next week and beyond.

Have an awesome Monday, everyone!