The 2024-2025 Boston Celtics season ended in catastrophic fashion. The Celtics lost to the New York Knicks in the second round, a sentence that did not feel within the realm of possibilities when we began the playoffs. And as if a second round loss to the Knicks wasn’t excruciating enough, Celtics fans were treated to a poop-flavored cherry on top coming in the form of Jayson Tatum rupturing his Achilles.
As Jaylen Brown let us know after the conclusion of the Knicks series, “I was taught that there’s life after death. So we’ll get ready for whatever’s next.”
In the wake of the Celtics’ season ending, I was reminded of the 2018-2019 Golden State Warriors. The Warriors entered those playoffs chasing history, and left those same playoffs facing the potential end of an era.
The question is, can Tatum and the Celtics secure their version of Golden State’s 2022 NBA championship?
Going into the 2018-2019 season, the Golden State Warriors were chasing the elusive three-peat, something that hasn’t been done since the Kobe and Shaq Lakers. Sadly, Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and Klay Thompson tore his ACL in Game 6 (then subsequently ruptured his Achilles a year later) — an obvious parallel to Jayson Tatum going down with his own Achilles rupture in Game 4 of the series against the Knicks. The clear difference for the Warriors was that they still had their franchise icon, Steph Curry, intact for the following season. Then they lost Steph to a broken hand just four games into the following season. This was the end of the Warriors as we knew them, and the beginning of their pursuit of another championship.
Similar to the 2025 Boston Celtics, the 2019 Golden State Warriors were faced with significant roster decisions after the painful exists in the previous playoffs. Kevin Durant departed in a sign-and-trade for D’Angelo Russell. He was then flipped for Andrew Wiggins at the next trade deadline. Andre Igoudala saw the writing on the wall and left for the Miami Heat.
I had forgotten the Celtics had the distinct pleasure of being on the wrong side of Iguodala chasing rings in two separate postseasons. I had apparently suppressed the memory of Iguodala being a key piece of the Miami Heat team that took down the Celtics in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals. I digress.
So, of the top five minute earners for the 18-19 Warriors: Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Steph Curry, and Andre Iguodala, only Steph and Draymond were on the opening night roster. And then Steph Curry broke his hand four games into the season. This led to the Warriors winning just 15 games and securing the second overall pick in the 2020 draft. Which landed them the crown jewel of the draft, James Wiseman.
Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury has spawned the idea of a potential “stealth tank” season for the 2025-2026 Boston Celtics. It’s not hard to see a path to a top-10 pick for the Celtics. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis get moved for 50 cents on the dollar, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are load managed, and JD Davison runs the second unit for a season. For a Celtics team that will find it hard to acquire talent at a discount, a top-10 pick is certainly enticing. Just look at what Cason Wallace is doing for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But what’s interesting and surprising about the Warriors’ path back to contention is that none of the high draft picks they made in their down years helped them win the 2022 title. James Wiseman is on his third team. Jonathan Kuminga, who they drafted with the pick they received in the D’Angelo Russell for Andrew Wiggins trade, wasn’t a big factor, and neither was Moses Moody, who they selected 14th overall. Ironically, the one young guy who helped them win the title was Jordan Poole, who the Warriors drafted 28th overall in the 2019 draft.
If the Warriors missed on their bridge year draft picks, how did they finagle their way back into contention? The obvious is that Steph Curry was still Steph Curry at age 33. For the Celtics to win another title, it will require Jayson Tatum returning to his pre-injury form. The Warriors traded for the previously mentioned Andrew Wiggins, drafted Jordan Poole, signed Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr, and Nemanja Bjelica to veteran minimum contracts, and signed Gary Payton II to a two-way contract (which they later converted to a full NBA contract). In short, the Golden State Warriors nailed the margins. Impressive work from Bob Meyers.
Brad Stevens, you’re up next.
After some incredibly shrewd manoeuvering, the Warriors formed a 10-man rotation of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Otto Porter Jr, Gary Payton II, Andrew Iguodala, and Nemanja Bjelica. It’s a rotation that, sadly, took down the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals — just three seasons after the apparent end of the Warriors dynasty.
Since stepping into the role of President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics, it has been home run after home run for Stevens. The Kemba Walker for Al Horford trade. Genius. The Romeo Langford, Josh Richardson, and a 2028 pick swap for Derrick White trade. A masterstroke.
Next, emulating a version of the 2022 Warriors. This will be Brad Stevens’ biggest test yet. The foundation of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White will, basketball gods willing, remain in place. Those three core pieces make up the Celtics’ version of the Steph, Draymond, Wiggins trio. I don’t think it’s outlandish to think that Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet can replicate the impact of post ACL/Achilles injury Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney. Pritchard is coming off a career year where he was the league’s most potent weapon off the bench, and Luke Kornet reinvented himself as an offensive hub that can mash you on the offensive glass.
The last couple of seasons in Washington make it easy to forget that Jordan Poole was an important piece of that Warriors team. Poole established himself as a third “splash bro”, playing 27 minutes a night and pouring in 17 points per game on 65% true shooting on their run to the title. The Warriors drafted this brash guard at 28th overall three seasons earlier. The draft was right before everything fell apart in the 2019 NBA Finals. Not dissimilar to how the Boston Celtics drafted a spunky wing out of Creighton with the 30th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. If you squint, you can envision Baylor Scheierman hitting half-court daggers in the NBA Finals.
Sam Hauser would be our Otto Porter Jr. in this scenario. Hauser has already proven he can be a 7th man on a championship team, after he had an excellent series against the Dallas Mavericks on the way to Banner 18. I’m hopeful that Hauser is still around for the next iteration of the Celtics. If he is not a casualty of the new CBA, then he brings our rotation to seven players. I
haven’t mentioned Al Horford. Al will be approximately 104 years old by the time the Celtics are ready to contend again. I won’t be stunned if Al is still playing, because he is blessed with the best genetics a person can have, but that would just be a nice surprise.
Next, it’s time for Brad to find his Iguodala, Gary Payton II, and Nemanja Bjelicas of the world. This doesn’t have to come in the form of veteran minimum contracts, but an advantage the 2026-2027 Celtics will likely have is the offer of playing time to potential free agents. Something they could not offer in the previous few seasons. Which is why the Celtics have not brought in any of the prized veteran minimum guys like Gary Trent Jr, Derrick Jones Jr, or Malik Beasley. On top of having an advantage in the veteran’s minimum free agent market, Brad Stevens and the Celtics own all of their draft picks until 2028 (which is a swap with the Spurs), which is impressive in itself. The fact that Brad Stevens was able to build a team as talented and deep as the team over the past two seasons, while still having the draft capital he has available, is some tidy business. The Celtics’ draft pick position is in stark contrast with a team like the Milwaukee Bucks, who don’t own any of their draft picks until the 2031 draft. Hitting on some of these draft picks could be the key to unlocking Banner 19. The Celtics own the 28th and 32nd overall picks in the upcoming draft. It would be great if those picks both turned into rotation players. Realistically, getting one rotation player with those two picks would be a huge win, but why not dream a little?
Going into next season, the Celtics will have a nice collection of rotation player lottery tickets. Let’s take a second to admire those tickets, shall we? The two 2025 draft picks. We have the aforementioned Spunky Scheierman. Next up is Jordan Walsh. The 38th overall pick in the 2023 draft. Walsh is yet to show us anything that would lead us to believe he can help us on our journey towards Banner 19. However, he just turned 21, they haven’t drawn the lottery balls for him just yet.
A lot will need to go right for the Celtics to secure another title in the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era. But the path is clear. Rely on the franchise cornerstones, hit on a couple of draft picks, and entice prized low-cost free agents to join us on our quest to remain the winningest franchise in the NBA. This plan should be easy enough to execute when you have Brad Stevens running the show.
