This weekend brought a rare trove of player news in the midst of the NBA Finals. We had a blockbuster trade, a meaningful contract extension, and a strong rumor of specific teams as a desired landing spot for a superstar on the move.
Here’s a look at how all of that impacted the Celtics.
THE TRADE
Orlando received Desmond Bane from Memphis in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first round draft picks (‘25, ‘26 (swap with Phoenix or Washington), ‘28, ‘30) and an additional first-round pick swap (‘29, top 2 protected).
Karalis’ Analysis: First of all, wow what a haul for Bane. We can argue that one of those picks is for Memphis to feel better about taking KCP’s salary, but he has two years left on his deal at most and Anthony can be done after this season if the team refuses his final year option.
I don’t care how you slice it, this is a big spend for Bane in a win-now move to add one of the league’s best shooters to the Magic roster. This is a rare move to send talent from west to east, adding a big-time player to a talented core that suffered some significant injuries last season. The Magic are going to be part of the crowd fighting for home-court advantage next season.
We can presume the Cavs will remain good. The Pacers are still trying to win a championship (that still feels weird to type) which means they’ll obviously be in the mix. New York and Orlando can stake a claim to one of those spots, while the Pistons are knocking on the door.
Where does that leave Boston?
Whoever remains after this summer’s moves will have to coalesce quickly. I’m assuming Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard will be the core players returning to start the season. I’m going to throw Kristaps Porzingis in there for now as well. We’ll get into Luke Kornet and Al Horford in a bit.
There will be some additions from the eventual Holiday trade, and this group is going to have to work really hard to make sure those players work. The Celtics will need a big season from Brown and White to keep the Celtics in the mix until they can figure out if Jayson Tatum will return or not. It won’t be easy, and the Celtics certainly will not be able to just cruise to a second seed again.
The net result of this trade for Boston is that it adds one more legitimate playoff team in front of them in a season where they're trying to squeeze one more run out of an incomplete roster. If Tatum can return for a playoff run, then all this group has to do is stay afloat. If he can’t return, then this season and the fight for a high enough seed to make the path a little easier will be that much tougher.
Side note: Orlando is getting pretty expensive. Bane, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs combine to make $110 million. Paolo Banchero makes $15.3 million before heading into restricted free agency, so he’ll make a lot next season. Then you can toss on another $26 million for Wendell Carter Jr. and Jonathan Isaac.
Next year’s Magic are $4 million from the second apron, so they might not be very active in acquiring anyone that puts them over that line. They could cross that line the following season, which makes for some interesting guys to watch on Orlando’s periphery. What will they do with Anthony Black and Gary Harris?
Orlando is pushing their chips in now, but as we know that window is small.
THE SIGNING
The Rockets and Steven Adams agreed to a three-year, $39 million extension to keep him in Houston.
Karalis’ Analysis: Keith Smith of Spotrac reports that the contract descends in value, going from $14,130,434, to $13,000,000, and then $11,869,566. It’s a nice deal for the Rockets.
It sets the price for bigs, and Boston has two important ones available. But they're not the only bigs on the market.
I think there are players like Myles Turner, Clint Capela, Naz Reid, and Kevon Looney who might get some attention, but as we’ve seen with this CBA, the middle class of players isn’t always getting the big payday.
It’s easy to look at Adams and say “if he got that, then Kornet should be in that ballpark.” But I wonder if Kornet’s track record will push him into that stratosphere. I can see teams looking at Kornet and saying he had a great one-off season on a team full of talent, but wondering if he is really worth a $30 million investment. He’s 29 and his production before this version of the Celtics was non-existent.
He could get a short-term contract worth more than what Boston can pay, but there is a significant part of me that thinks Kornet could be passed over for guys with longer track records of being good. I think a few guys will get an Adams-type contract and the rest of the league looking for bigs will go to better bargains.
The question for the Celtics is what price they are willing to pay to bring everyone back. I still think Horford is a minimum guy at this point of his career. He just turned 39, he can’t play back-to-backs, and he can’t be asked to do too much in the playoffs anymore. He’s great with some extra rest, but he’s not made for the every-other-day grind anymore.
There are a lot of centers on the market and not a lot of money to be spent. I have a feeling Boston’s centers won’t be as popular on the open market as some think. But not every team evaluates these situations the same, so Adams setting the market too rich for Boston’s blood is certainly possible.
THE RUMOR
Kevin Durant has reportedly narrowed his preferred list of teams down to Miami, Houston, and San Antonio, but ESPN reports that Phoenix will make the best deal for the team, not necessarily just acquiescing to Durant’s whims.
Karalis’ Analysis: I don’t think Durant is changing Miami’s fortunes at this point. I can’t imagine a trade to Phoenix that doesn’t involve Tyler Herro, and at this point, losing his shot-creation is going to be more damaging than getting Durant’s points.
I respect everything Durant has done and I think it’s amazing that he’s still doing what he’s doing at nearly 37 years old, but he alone won’t push Miami to the top half of the East. They might climb out of the play-in, but I just don’t see Miami as a threat anymore, KD or no KD.
Durant can do some damage in Houston, raising the level of a young team that needs a consistent perimeter scorer. He can turn the Spurs into a nightmare with Victor Wembanyama and what is probably the tallest pick-and-roll combination of all time. But I don’t think the supporting in Miami is anywhere near strong enough to scare the better teams in the East.