The Miami Heat took down a few teams en route to their NBA Finals bid. The Boston Celtics were one of those teams.
Boston Celtics
This hurts to write because no one dislikes giving the Boston Celtics praise more than me, but you have to give credit where credit is due. Boston has had a really nice free agency period so far.
A big part of that is giving Jayson Tatum a 5-year extension that amounts to a total of $163 million. This contract can be for even more of the green paper depending on if Tatum makes an All-NBA team.
This ties the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to Boston for the foreseeable future. It was the only correct play, right?
The Celtics also brought in Tristan Thompson on a two-year deal after trading Enes Kanter to Portland. Thompson will bring toughness and defense to a Celtics team that needed more muscle in the middle.
If the Celtics end up doing a sign and trade with Gordon Hayward going to Charlotte, that will be the cherry on top of a really nice offseason. It’s clear that Hayward was frustrated with his role while in Boston and a fresh start for both parties will be good.