The Boston Celtics fell short of matching their run to the NBA Finals from last season, and now face a highly consequential offseason after losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
With All-Star guard Jaylen Brown set to be a free agent next summer and extension eligible now, Boston will need to find out how much it is willing to spend to keep its core intact.
But Brown isn't alone, as some other key players, who are free agents this year or next year, will be the focus of the Celtics' front office over the next few months.
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State of the roster
By their own standard, this season was a disappointment for the Celtics. How could it be any less considering Boston returned the same roster that lost to Golden State in six games, added Malcolm Brogdon last offseason and then saw Brown and Jayson Tatum selected to the All-NBA team.
The Celtics now enter the offseason facing short- and long-term decisions. In the short term, Boston has 13 players under contract from a 57-win team and a decision to make with restricted free agent Grant Williams. Re-signing Williams would put the Celtics into the repeater tax.
In the long term, Boston has to decide whether a roster that has two players earning more than $600 million combined is sustainable to compete for a championship under the new collective bargaining agreement. By virtue of their All-NBA selections, Brown is eligible to sign a projected $295 million extension this offseason and then Tatum can sign for $318 million the following summer. If the Celtics' front office decides that Brown and Tatum are franchise players, then the answer is yes. Because Tatum's extension would not kick in until 2025-26, the Celtics are not in danger of exceeding the projected $189 million second apron in 2024-25 after their roster is filled out. The reason is that Brogdon, Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Robert Williams III and Derrick White earn below $22.5 million each.
A second apron team can retain its own players but is not allowed to aggregate salaries in a trade or sign a player to the taxpayer midlevel exception. The Celtics would have to navigate the scenario in 2025-26, when $146 million would be committed to Brown, Tatum, Smart and Robert Williams. If the challenge to build the roster becomes too daunting, Brown and Tatum will still be in the prime of their careers, allowing Boston to pivot from either player.
Offseason finances
After paying a franchise-record $74.4 million penalty in 2022-23, the Celtics once again project as a tax team. Including Mike Muscala's $3.5 million team option and Luke Kornet's $2.4 million non-guaranteed salary, Boston is $4 million above the $162 million tax threshold.
The Celtics could duck the tax, but that would likely mean letting forwards Danilo Gallinari and Grant Williams go. Gallinari has a $6.8 million player option, and Williams is a restricted free agent. Gallinari has until June 20 to opt into his contract, and June 29 is the deadline for Boston to exercise Muscala's option. There is no guaranteed date on the Kornet contract.
Top front-office priority
It starts with Brown, who was one of seven players to average 27 points and 50% shooting after the All-Star break. Since the NBA instituted the designated veteran extension rule (supermax) in 2017, 11 of the 12 players who met the All-NBA criteria have signed the designated extension. The lone exception was Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio.
Under the supermax rules, teams are required to offer an extension for a total of six seasons (including what is left on the contract) but are not mandated to offer the first-year salary starting at 35% of the salary cap. In 2020, Rudy Gobert signed a supermax extension that was $23 million less than the extension of Giannis Antetokounmpo. If Brown were to be traded before signing a supermax extension, he'd be ineligible to sign the extension with his new team. He would also be ineligible to be traded for one year if he were to sign the extension. The deadline for Brown to sign the supermax extension is Oct. 23.
The Celtics also have to make a decision on Grant Williams. The forward is eligible to receive a one-year, $8.5 million qualifying offer prior to June 29, which would make him a restricted free agent. Williams shot 44.5% on corner 3-pointers over the past two seasons, running in the top 10 among all players who attempted at least 200. Williams averaged a career-high 25.9 minutes this season but fell out of the rotation in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Extension candidate to watch
The Celtics can extend Derrick White for an additional three seasons and up to $87.6 million starting Sept. 30. White has two years left on his contract, and the first year of the extension would start in 2025-26.
Named second-team All-Defense, White led all guards in total blocks this season and held opponents to under 50% shooting in the paint as the contesting defender, per Second Spectrum tracking. That ranked behind only Rudy Gobert. He is eligible to extend up until Oct. 23. White is deserving of a new contract, but do the pending extensions of Brown and then Tatum put the Celtics in a holding pattern?
Other extension candidates: Tatum (but not supermax eligible until 2024), Brogdon (as of Oct. 1) and Payton Pritchard (rookie)
Team needs: A healthy Gallinari and wing defender. Before he tore an ACL last offseason, the forward averaged 11.7 points and shot 38% from 3 in Atlanta.
Draft picks in June: No. 35 (via POR)
Future draft assets: The Celtics have their own first-round pick in the next seven years starting in 2024. Starting the night of the draft, Boston is allowed to trade its 2024 first. The Spurs have the right to swap picks (top-1 protected) in 2028. Boston has only one future second-round pick available.