The Boston Celtics took the loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals as a sign that things needed to change for this team to become a legitimate title contender.
Even though it was an admirable comeback in the Eastern Conference Finals to force a Game 7, the Celtics fell flat when the lights were the brightest once again, leaving many to wonder if this team would ever get over the hump as currently constructed.
Once the NBA offseason began for Boston, it didn’t take long for the storied franchise to start making moves to make these needed changes, with the team pulling off a trade to acquire star forward Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards.
The team also parted ways with Marcus Smart in the deal and sent Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks shortly after that, which is a hit defensively for Boston, but an improvement offensively.
Boston wasn’t done there, as the team agreed to pay Jaylen Brown upwards of $300 million on his next contract, which secured his long-term future and shows a commitment to the Brown-Jayson Tatum duo moving forward.
Harrison Sanford and Camron Smith believe these moves make it championship-or-bust for the Celtics, with a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA playoffs being the only acceptable thing, via Stadium.
“It’s championship or bust for Boston.”@camronsmith and @harrisonsanford have high expectations for the C’s after the Jaylen Brown extension pic.twitter.com/L8Lbxopyvr
— Stadium (@Stadium) July 27, 2023
Committing that much money to Brown and likely doing the same with Tatum in the near future means the Celtics will live and die by what these two stars can do in the coming years.
Although these two players, with Porzingis added to the mix, are a talented bunch, it remains to be seen if they’ve got enough to top the competition in the Eastern Conference and get the best of the Western Conference’s elite in the NBA Finals.
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Jaylen Brown Issues Warning To The Entire NBA