Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge met with the media Thursday morning to talk about the end of the 2019-20 NBA season, as well the team’s plans for the offseason among several topics, and those plans for the future were among the most popular talking points of the press.
Asked about the bigger questions on everyone’s minds — namely, All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum’s potential contract extension and the status of possible free agents Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter — Ainge declined to say much due to team rules that prohibit front office employees from having such discussions ahead of free agency.
I can’t have a conversation yet with Jayson, Gordon or Enes or anybody … until we get to [when] the rules allow us to have conversations,” explained the Celtics chief.
Celtics probing draft’s shooters, interview TCU’s Desmond Bane https://t.co/aE74bPouh1
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 30, 2020
“Jayson knows how much we like him,” he added. “We have a good relationship [and] Jayson likes it here, so I’m confident that we’ll be able to work something out in the summer this offseason.”
And should Tatum ink that extension and Hayward opt-in to the final year of his current deal as many are expected, the team’s payroll will get very expensive in a hurry.
Asked if Boston is prepared to spend time as a taxpaying team in order to compete for titles, Ainge responded in the affirmative.
“Yeah, we’re anticipating being in the tax next year,” he explained. “We’ve been prepared for that for the last couple of years as we build this team. So we’re prepared to do that.
Celtics have interviewed sharpshooting point guard Tyrell Terry https://t.co/2NUzN89GLf
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 30, 2020
The Celtics will also have something of a roster crunch with seven rookies from 2019-20 on a 17-man roster (counting two-way slots) with up to four incoming picks to select prospects in need of roster spots.
Meaning consolidatory trades of contracts or picks are going to be needed if players are not to be cut outright.
Would this make Boston more disposed to make deals to move picks or prospects?
“You take all those things into consideration when you’re drafting [prospects], Ainge explained.
“Typically, you want to draft for the best player, [and] not worry about positions. But, we’ve all heard that rhetoric before — that’s true. But there are times when you need to draft for specific needs. And especially when you’re drafting in the positions that we’re drafting this year and with the draft that we have this year.”
This comment could signal that the Celtics have their eye on a prospect or two to help shore up their rotation on the cheap, especially long-term.
Should Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens be on the hot seat? https://t.co/0TOHBHZysv via @thecelticswire
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 30, 2020
With so much money invested — or about to be invested — in the starters, cheap supporting cast to fill out the margins is going to be important to Boston’s future.
And while bench depth still clearly matters, finding potential long-term replacements at point guard and center are also considerations the Celtics may be including in their draft calculus.
“We’ll take into consideration all of the above,” added Ainge, “all of the players on our roster and what our needs are, who the best players are.”
The Celtics president also hinted drafting and stashing a player too young or undeveloped could also be a potential target, such as international prospects Aleksej Pokusevski or Theo Maledon.
Whichever way Ainge and company go in the offseason, what we do know is that it’s going to be an expensive roster no matter what ends up shaking out at the top, and that there’s going to be a shuffling — if not changing — of the guard near the bottom of the rotation.
[jwplayer Xqv25y2A]
[lawrence-related id=42252,42250,42248,42246]
