Celtics Rumors: Playing Fact or Fiction with Latest Buzz Ahead of NBA Free Agency
The Boston Celtics might still feel the aftereffects from celebrating their record-setting 18th NBA championship.
For members of the front office, though, the party ended a while ago.
This is business time with the 2024 NBA draft arriving this week and free agency following in the next.
That's why there are some rumblings around this team already. There aren't a ton, admittedly, because Boston has effectively secured its championship core already, but there are things to address with the supporting cast. Let's dig into what these rumors are and parse out the amount of truth each holds.
Boston Has a Copycat in the West?
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The rumor: The Oklahoma City Thunder have "effectively mimicked" Boston's blueprint, Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix said on The Rich Eisen Show (h/t NESN).
The verdict: Fact-ish, but perhaps not quite as flattering as it seems.
The blueprint, as Mannix relayed, features "a bunch of four, five-tool" players. While that formula no doubt helped Boston find its way to the championship podium, Oklahoma City was chasing this strategy long before the Celtics used it to raise their latest banner.
The aim of every modern team is finding as many good players with well-rounded games as possible. If hoops history had been more open to letting big men expand their skill sets, it would've been the aim of every past team, too.
The Thunder aren't chasing versatility because of the Celtics. They're doing so because that's a really smart way to construct a roster.
Oshae Brissett Opts Out, but Could Stay?
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The rumor: Oshae Brissett is declining his player option, per Spotrac's Keith Smith, but "a reunion is very possible," according to MassLive.com's Brian Robb.
The verdict: Feels factual, though the market may determine otherwise.
Brissett's first season with the Shamrocks featured not only the championship run, but a handful of stints with the regular rotation. He gave this group good energy and defensive versatility, though his shooting limitations (27.3 percent from three) also limited how big of a role he could handle.
Will those same limitations now limit what he finds—in terms of both money and available minutes—what he finds on the open market? Answer that question, and you'll know how viable a return to Boston actually is.
Keeping Both Backup Bigs Is an Option?
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The rumor: The Celtics "prioritize flexibility" with their roster and "probably like the idea of bringing back both" Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman in free agency, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.
The verdict: The desire to keep both is likely fact, but the reality of doing so might be fiction.
When Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford are both available, Boston doesn't have a major need a third center, let alone a fourth. Between Porziņģis' injury history and Horford's age (38), though, there are challenges in keeping them upright.
The Celtics need reliable depth behind them, and ideally, they'd have some variety in that depth, because different matchups demand different skills. Kornet and Tillman delivered that this season, with the former supplying length and interior activity and the latter adding mobility and defensive versatility to the mix. It would be helpful to have both again.
Again, this probably hinges on how the market treats them. A significant offer to either one should be able to lure them out of town, since Boston's roster is already so expensive. Will either elicit that type of attention, though? That's debatable.
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