NBA Insider Explains ‘Significant Decision’ Celtics Face This Offseason

Let’s assume the Miami Heat close out the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

Getting ahead of ourselves? Maybe. But no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 series deficit, the unsettling reality the Celtics now face after suffering an ugly 128-102 loss Sunday night in Miami.

After the series, Boston will need to look toward the future and contemplate a roster reshuffle. While the Celtics are in the enviable position of having two young studs, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, coming off All-NBA seasons, building around both will require a massive financial commitment, which is complicated, to an extent, by Boston’s knack for collapsing in the playoffs.

“They have to make a pretty significant decision with Jaylen Brown this summer,” NBA insider Brian Windhorst explained Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “He’s eligible for a contract extension now of over $280 million. He won’t really know the full number until the salary cap comes out, but it’s going to be a huge, huge number. And Jayson Tatum also qualified, although he can’t sign it this year; he’d have to sign it next year.

“Here’s the thing: I absolutely think that the Celtics should keep these guys together. But when you are looking at making a $600 million investment in a duo, it is not necessarily a rubber stamp at this point, (with) the way this season has ended and the way last season ended. And you’ve got to make a decision if you’re the Celtics: Is this a very good pairing, or is this a great pairing? Because I don’t know that you can invest 600 million in very good. Jaylen Brown is highly, highly desired in the market, so I think it just makes everything be reevaluated by the Celtics. I’m still of the belief that we get to July (and) Jaylen Brown’s going to get that offer. But man, it’s really hard to think that just running it back is the thing to do for Boston at this point.”

Tatum, a four-time All-Star, just turned 25 in March. Brown, a two-time All-Star, will turn 27 in October. The idea of blowing up the entire operation with these guys firmly in their primes is wild, on its surface, especially with the Celtics falling just two wins shy of a title last season. Yet it’s absolutely a conversation that must be had as Boston heads toward another disappointing postseason exit. The C’s looked lifeless Sunday night in Game 3.

If nothing else, the Celtics might be looking at a sizable shakeup to the core around Tatum and Brown.