2017 Boston Celtics

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Boston Celtics (Last Year: 53-29)

2017-18 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Al Horford/Tyler Zeller

PF: *Kelly Olynyk/#Jordan Mickey

SF: Jae Crowder/Jaylen Brown

SG: Avery Bradley/Marcus Smart

PG: Isaiah Thomas//Terry Rozier/#Demetrius Jackson

NBA Free Agents:

PF-Amir Johnson (UFA)

PF-Jonas Jerebko (UFA)

G/F-Gerald Green (UFA)

SG-James Young (UFA)

*PF-Kelly Olynyk (RFA)

#PG-Demetrius Jackson (TO)

#PF-Jordan Mickey (TO)

2017-18 Team Salary: Approximately $61.7 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Another Star: Despite finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics were man-handled by the Cavaliers in the playoffs. Simply put, Boston lacks the star power to compete with Cleveland or Golden State. If the Celtics want to get into the NBA Title conversation, they need to add at least one more star to their current core. They have a good amount cap space to make a run at someone in free agency and have a ton of future assets in draft picks to be active in the trade market as well.

2. Power Forward: As it stands right now, the Celtics could lose all of their power forwards from last year, so finding a starter to pair alongside Al Horford is a must.

3. Extend Isaiah?: Isaiah Thomas might be the biggest bargain in the NBA as he is slated to earn a bit more the $6 million this season. He becomes a free agent next summer and is due for a massive payraise. The Celtics will eventually have to decide if they want to extend him and if so, save some cap flexibility for the future.