The Boston Celtics’ reign atop the Eastern Conference ended with their surprise second-round series loss to the New York Knicks. Now entering an offseason of uncertainty, it’s fair to wonder whether they’re still the team to beat.
Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum will spend most, if not all, of the 2025-26 season recovering from a ruptured Achilles. Al Horford and Luke Kornet are free agents, and the rest of the roster seems to be on the trade block as the C’s aim to get under the second apron of the luxury tax. Boston must shed roughly $20 million in salary to accomplish that goal.
With the Celtics having so many question marks, plus other Eastern Conference teams like the Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Detroit Pistons trending upward, Boston may not be favored to win the conference in 2025. However, if you ask Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, the C’s remain the best-positioned team of the bunch for the next few years.
“I still think it’s the Celtics,” O’Connor said on NBC Sports Boston’s The Off C’season special. “It is still the Celtics, best positioned in the Eastern Conference for the next three years because they have Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White. They still have that core, and they have Brad Stevens as their GM, Joe Mazzulla as their head coach.
“So until we see Boston trade away Jaylen Brown or Derrick White and become a team that’s in the middle or even at the bottom, they’re still the best-positioned team in the Eastern Conference today despite the Tatum injury.”
Brown and White have been the subject of trade rumors, though O’Connor reports the Celtics would prefer not to trade either star this offseason unless blown away by an offer. It appears far more likely Boston would part ways with Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and/or Sam Hauser.
Barring a surprise trade, Brown is set to be the No. 1 option for most of the 2025-26 campaign with Tatum out. O’Connor believes we still may not have seen the best of the 2024 NBA Finals MVP.
“I just think Jaylen, you also can’t rule out further improvement. Just because he’s in his late 20s nearing 30 doesn’t mean a guy like that can’t get better,” O’Connor said.
“We’ve seen him get better every single year of his entire career. We see him get better as a shooter when he’s young. We see him go from a robotic ball handler to a guy who can create his own shot when he was at Cal in college to what he became as a prime player in the NBA. We saw improvement as a playmaker last season as well from what he did in past years. So now, if he’s the 1a, maybe we see him reach another level whether it’s in Boston or somewhere else.”
Watch the full episode of The Off C’season featuring O’Connor, Brian Scalabrine, Chris Forsberg, and Drew Carter below:
