ESPN put out its offseason survey this week, giving us a quick glimpse of how a few folks in the league feel about the landscape of the NBA heading into the season (which is only a few weeks away, really).
The panel only included 15 coaches, scouts, and executives, so it isn't fully representative of the league and It doesn’t mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. But it’s a starting point and our first hint of expectations heading into the season. Here’s how the Celtics are impacted.
- 1. Who is the best player in the NBA right now? Giannis Antetokounmpo: 11 votes
The overwhelming choice, and for good reason. Not only is he viewed as the best player, but he was the top vote-getter of the “Who will win MVP?” question (5 votes), he was the top vote-getter of the “Who will be the best player in the NBA in five years?” question (7 votes).
Giannis is 27 years old, so he’s at the height of his powers and will likely stay there for a while, so this voting makes perfect sense. It’s unfortunate, though, for the Celtics because his rise to power fills the vacuum left by LeBron James’ departure from the Eastern Conference and will last beyond Kevin Durant’s reign of terror.
Antetokounmpo is not just a hurdle the Celtics have to clear, he’s a road block, stop sticks, and the National Guard. The Celtics were able to go full Blues Brothers and avoid it last season, but Giannis looms as the number one threat to Boston’s title chances during this window.
- Who will be the best player in the NBA in five years? Jayson Tatum: 2 votes
Luka Doncic is just behind Antetokounmpo (6 votes) and then there's Tatum, which is notable. I personally have always had Doncic ahead of Tatum, but Tatum has closed the gap a bit. That at least a couple of people in this survey believe that Tatum will be the league’s best player before he’s 30 years old is important for how he’s viewed across the league.
When you think of the other possible answers, Devin Booker, Trae Young, Ja Morant, Karl-Anthony Towns, it shows how highly Tatum is viewed by people around the NBA. Not only that, if Tatum does rise to the “arguably the best player in the league” discussion by then, then that means the Celtics are making more than the one run to the Finals.
Side note: If I’m Jaylen Brown, I’m psyched about this because playing alongside Tatum on a team that makes multiple runs and possibly wins a championship or two, it means I’ll be getting a bunch of space to work, put up numbers, and make All-Star and All-NBA teams (the best teams tend to get two players on these teams). Brown is an exceptional player, and an exceptional player in this circumstance has a real chance to put a Hall of Fame resume together.
- Which team will Kevin Durant be on the day after the trade deadline? Brooklyn Nets (13 votes)
The Celtics did get one vote, but the overwhelming feeling is that he stays in Brooklyn, so hopefully we can put this whole thing to bed. Thank you Sean Marks for the content this summer.
- Which team had the best offseason? Boston Celtics: 6 votes
Snagging Malcolm Brogdon was a surprise (as noted by the one vote it earned when asked which move was most surprising), and a pleasant one for a team with a need for a versatile perimeter ballhandler, shooter, and scorer.
Add to that the Danilo Gallinari signing (he’ll only miss a couple of months with the torn meniscus, so he’ll return to play basketball in November. Not the best-case scenario, but good news considering the circumstances and very manageable in the short term), and the team filled some needs without giving up anyone of tremendous consequence (sorry, Daniel Theis).
That's really what makes this offseason so good for Boston. The best player they lost was Theis, and they added Brogdon and Gallinari. That's really impressive.
- Who wins the East finals? Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics (7 votes each)
Antetokounmpo might be the best player, but there is a lot of love for the Celtics as the best team in the conference. That shows a lot of respect for the work everyone has done, from Brad Stevens constructing the roster to Ime Udoka coaching it to the guys on the team buying in and executing.
I think most followers of the NBA expect Bucks-Celtics to become a huge rivalry over the next few seasons. You’ll hear a lot of “this could be the NBA Finals” when it comes to those teams meeting up in the future.
Speaking of which…
- Who wins the NBA Finals? LA Clippers: (5 votes), Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics (4 votes each)
The Clippers got a lot of love in this survey, but the Bucks and Celtics are very close behind.
Basically, the league is in on the Celtics to start the season. There's a healthy amount of respect for them in the survey. They will enter the season with a fair amount of internal and external expectations, and it’s going to be up to them to live up to it all.