When six-time All-Star Boston Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon in the second round of the playoffs this past May against the New York Knicks, it signaled the end of an all-too-brief championship era in Boston.
In the summer of 2023, Celtics team president Brad Stevens traded to acquire former All-Stars Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and reconfigured his team's upside. They joined a led by All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White to form a lethally effective starting five.
Boston's roster was rounded out by big man Al Horford, microwave scorer Payton Pritchard and sharpshooting reserve wing Sam Hauser.
The Celtics' championship run
The new additions paid off instantly. Boston posted a league-best 64-18 record in 2023-24 and claimed its 18th championship in the summer. The next year, the Celtics went 61-21, but were upset by New York early.
Now, Stevens has already moved on from that core. He traded away Holiday and Porzingis, and subsequently let backup centers Horford and Luke Kornet leave for richer deals than Boston was preparing to offer in free agency.
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Stevens made those moves in an apparent bid to get below the league's rough second luxury tax apron. Boston is still a hair above the first tax apron.
Hall of Fame former NBA power forward Charles Barkley, now an Emmy-winning broadcaster, has weighed on Boston's wild summer moves.
While in conversation with Steve Bulpett of Heavy, Barkley postulated as to the real reason the Celtics shed all those contracts this offseason.
“I don’t really think that’s it,” Barkley told Bulpett. “I don’t think it had anything to do with the second apron. They had the apron last year, right? So I just think they realized that they’re going to take a step backwards. JT’s out pretty much the whole year, so they’re not winning a championship next year."
Essentially, the Celtics would have owed over $500 million in payroll between its salary obligations and its luxury tax bill prior to Stevens' busy offseason. The team would have been paying for a club that wasn't going to be able to go all the way.
“You’re like, let’s break it up a year early," Brakley said. "I don’t think it had anything to do with the second apron, to be honest with you. They’re not going to win a championship next year, with Jayson missing the season or coming back late in the season.”
Barkley observed that Tatum likely would not be himself even if he were back near the end of the 2025-26 season, while noting that the 35-year-old Holiday and 30-year-old Porzingis are on the wrong side of the NBA aging curve.
“Even if he comes back… Listen, the history says if he can come back, you’re not the same guy the first year,” Barkley noted. “And also Jrue Holiday’s a year older. And same thing with Porzingis. He can’t stay healthy. So I don’t think it had anything to do with the apron. I just think they’re like, ‘Hey, you know what, let’s break this thing up sooner than later.’ But that’s just my opinion.
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“I think the injuries to Holiday and Porzingis played a big factor into that,” Barkley said. “It’s because Jrue Holiday’s not the same, and Porzingis was definitely not the same.
“Porzingis, to me, was their superpower. He made them champions.”
The 11-time All-NBA superstar and 1993 league MVP knows a heck of a lot about winning. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Barkley dragged his teams to 13 playoff berths in his 16 seasons.
Across 1,073 career regular season games with the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets, Barkley averaged 22.1 points on 54.1 percent shooting from the floor and 73.5 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 11.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks per bout.
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