Jayson Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. This completely altered the destiny of the franchise since. After their superstar went down, the Celtics were beaten in seven games, and followed with major moves during the offseason.
Knowing Tatum won’t be available for most of the next season, the Celtics shook up their roster, trading away several All-Star players. The Celtics traded veteran guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers, getting back Anfernee Simons and some second-round picks. In another blockbuster move, they traded Kristaps Porziņģis to the Atlanta Hawks, receiving Georges Niang and a second-round pick in return. Niang was later traded to the Utah Jazz.
By the roster moves, it’s clear that the Celtics are not looking to contend for the NBA title next season. After a flurry of offseason moves, Celtics legend Paul Pierce shared his honest reaction to the offseason roster shake-up.
Pierce explains Jayson Tatum’s injury made it easy
Pierce explained that because of Tatum’s injury, it became easier for the front office to do such moves, which were inevitable anyway.
“I’m not sure if that injury played a big role in the changes, because I feel like they still would have been in the same situation even if Tatum didn’t get hurt, you know, as far as luxury tax and the second apron and all of those things,” Pierce said to Heavy. “Whether he’s hurt or not, I think they would have had to still make these decisions.
“But I do think it made it easier to make them. Like, let’s say Jayson’s healthy and they won the championship. Then if you break it up, it’s like, what are we doing? So I think it made it easier to make those moves with Jrue and Porzingis and all that.”
The Celtics may not be in “full rebuild” mode as they still possess core stars like Tatum and Jaylen Brown. However, the focus after Tatum’s injury has shifted toward managing the salary cap and avoiding punitive tax burdens. They’d like to build a sustainable core while Tatum is out and expand their championship window.
