The run that the Celtics had since January can’t be understated. Going from 11th in the East and three games under .500 to being two wins away from a championship is incredible. But alas, still coming up short from a ring, the finish to the year is disappointment.

One of the things that stood out the most during the Finals was the Celtics inability to get much out of their bench. Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard scored the same amount of points in the Finals as they had during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semis vs the Bucks. Obviously the turnovers were a big issue but being less reliant on the Jays and Smart would’ve been really helpful and made the team less predictable/easy to defend.

Considering they have about 17~ million to work with in the Evan Fournier TPE, if I’m Brad Stevens I’m going out and solidifying the bench (and more depth to deal with regular season injuries) by going out and adding another solid two-way threat.

Josh Hart would be a fantastic third scoring option behind the Jays and an instant Sixth Man of the Year candidate off their bench. Hart would fit in seamlessly to the Celtics’ defensive schemes too continuing their idea of position-less basketball and constant switching.

The Blazers might look for a bit more in return especially for the center piece in return for CJ McCollum in his trade to the Pelicans. Maybe the Celtics have to include a someone like Payton Pritchard as well to present a homecoming pot sweetener for the Blazers but for a team that might be heading toward a full rebuild, continuing to ramp up their draft capital will be their primary focus.