The Boston Celtics are looking at a more uncertain future than almost anyone could’ve imagined just a few short days ago. Not only were the Celtics upset by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but star player Jayson Tatum went down with a ruptured Achilles late in Game 4.
The team’s president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, knows that there’s also on the franchise’s plate moving forward.
“I know there will be a lot of questions about what’s next,” Stevens said during his end-of-season news conference on Monday, according to ESPN. “At the end of the day, I think that will all be driven by the same thing that’s always driven us, and that’s, ‘How do we get ourselves in the mix to compete for championships best?’
“I think that will get more clarity as we take a deep breath, get a little more sleep than we have the last three nights.
The Celtics are also in the middle of welcoming new ownership, and it’s unclear whether the new ownership group will want to continue paying the high penalty associated with the Celtics’ current payroll.
“The north star is to have a championship contender, right? So you have to do what’s best to give yourself the best opportunity to do that when you can do that,” Stevens said.
“And so, we just have to decide how feasible that is on any given year and make sure we are making the decisions accordingly.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Boston responds to having their back against the wall after what appeared to be a budding dynasty.
